To The Editor:I recently read Jesse Singal's column (Anti-pot campaign misleading public) and felt the need to comment.I too really hate seeing those anti-marijuana ads -- especially the one that says that the kid who bought a single joint was responsible for terrorists blowing up a bus -- and find them absurdly simplistic.Yet, and this may shock those of you who know me, I support the advertisements.

Before I'm shouted down as a conservative, you should note that I am currently working to found a chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy at Brandeis, have attended the MassCann Freedom Rally (more affectionately known as Hempfest) for two straight years, and have been involved for a long time in the national campaign to stop the drug war.

I strongly support marijuana decriminalization as well as making medicinal marijuana readily available to those who need it.How then can I support these ads that make it seem like smoking can cause you to shoot your best friend?It's actually pretty simple. What's wrong with the legalization movement right now is that it tends to be short-sighted and simplistic. I don't believe that children should be smoking marijuana in the same way that I don't believe they should be drinking or even smoking cigarettes.

If you look carefully at these advertisements, the characters always seem to be young teenagers. I know we like to think that marijuana is harmless.Our last two presidents admitted to drug use (I'll skip the joke about what it's done to Bush's intelligence).Very successful and intelligent people have smoked and, in some cases, still do smoke marijuana habitually. That does not mean that we should be encouraging children to use drugs that have well- known effects on memory and other brain functions.As much as we like to say that marijuana is just something fun to do, we have to accept also that the things those ads imply, that being stoned impairs reaction time, decreases inhibitions, distorts one's image of reality, and can lead to being arrested, are actually true.

Most of us know that these things are true because we have actually been high at some point or another in high school or college. However, not everybody knows this.There are people who begin using drugs, even fairly benign drugs such as marijuana, without considering the risks. While these ads are absurd in their content, the idea behind them is solid.We should try to stop children from using drugs or at least make sure they understand the risks before starting.

I'm not selling out by supporting these ads, I'm just trying to redirect the legalization movement so it focuses on the areas that are important and not just on the interests of a bunch of kids who want to get high but are too lazy or stoned to vote.

-- David Firestein '05