Unless you live without a television, chances are you have seen the latest advertisements run by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America that purport to "tell the truth" about drug use. The most recent of these ads have blatantly linked the use of marijuana to the act of rape, unprotected sexual activity leading to pregnancy, manslaughter, and terrorism (both domestic and international).

Because I grew up with the "Just Say No" philosophy of the U.S. Government (and was part of the first fifth grade class to receive D.A.R.E. education), I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that Washington would capitalize on ridiculous shock tactics to convince the public that we are winning our $20 billion a year "War on Drugs." However, unlike "Just Say No" and D.A.R.E., which simply labeled illegal drugs "bad" and told kids not to take them because only losers used them, the current wave of tactics employed by our government use guilt, misinformation, and stereotypes to convince people that drug use will utterly destroy your life and the lives of those around you.

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