TEEN'S PITCH AIMED AT DRUG- FREE YOUTH

Seventeen-year-old Maria Disla figures smacking a softball for a home
run provides a better feeling than any drug ever could.

And the White House figures a kid like Maria can make the anti-drug
case to kids better than any adult.

So Maria, a senior at the Leadership/Public Service High School in
lower Manhattan, and eight kids from around the country are being
featured in a new ad campaign by the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy.

The ad, seen in several teen magazines and Spanish publications, has
made her a big girl on the L&PS campus.

"They were clapping and calling me a superstar," she said of her
classmates.

The ad shows a picture of Maria and a larger illustration of her
swinging a bat at a pill. It also includes a short bio and advice from
Maria on how teens should confront friends who may be considering
using drugs. The campaign aims to show how kids avoid the temptations
of drugs by participating in constructive activities.

"It's a technique called branding, in which we create a logo - in this
case, it is 'What's my anti-drug?' " said Don Maple, deputy director
of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Kids who recognize the logo instantaneously absorb the theme when they
see other featured kids, said Maple. Other alternatives featured in
the campaign include music, drawing, basketball and Claymation.

The ad, created by advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather, is paid for by
the federal agency. The office, overseen by the drug czar, has a $19
billion budget for a wide array of anti-drug strategies.

Maria, who sports a B-plus average, bats cleanup and plays shortstop,
pitcher and catcher on her school softball team. She plans to try out
next season for the team at Syracuse University, where she intends to
study psychology.

"I feel sorry for anyone who uses drugs, because it's affecting their
lives and they have no future," said Maria, who came to the city from
the Dominican Republic when she was 7 and lives in Washington Heights.
"I just think it's dumb. But then again, people know how to persuade
others."

The White House is hoping Maria can be persuasive, too. She was
recommended for the campaign by teachers and her coach, Omar Gonzalez.

Maria said drugs would rob her of the ability to participate in
softball, as well as her other favorite activity - dancing to salsa,
merengue and bachata music.

"If you do drugs," she said, "there's no way you can concentrate or be
your best."

The ads began running yesterday and will continue through the end of
June.