ANTI-DRUG ADS ARE VIEWED AS RIDICULOUS AND MISLEADING

Editor: To say that these ads "set the record straight" is ridiculous. Our
generation has been bombarded by anti-drug advertising - propaganda that
says marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are horrible, evil substances - as long
as we've been alive. Most of us have, at least, tried marijuana, and most
of us realized that the government was lying to us. It's really no worse
than alcohol or cigarettes.

The question then becomes, "What else have they been lying to us about?"
Are cocaine and heroin really that bad - because the government says it's
all the same as pot. And now I wonder, "Was every beer drinker in the 1920s
a supporter of organized crime?" By the logic of these advertisements, yes,
they were. Shouldn't we take a look at the past and realize that our
government, by means of prohibition, is the creator of a $400 billion/year
black-market drug trade, and the real supporter of terrorism?

I guess the answer is no, because once again, the ONDCP has decided to
spend the majority of its advertising budget on "discouraging marijuana
use." Whoopee! Way to waste our tax dollars. When are you baby-boomers
going to grow up and realize that we aren't kids anymore? We aren't
manipulated that easily. We listened to you, you lied to us, and sadly
enough, we just don't trust you anymore.

Matthew Everson

Madison