Now that's a good anti-drug commercial!

Ok, maybe it's not good, exactly, but at least it's honest. That's the theme of the article anyway.

This new spot, titled "Pete's Couch," doesn't offend me. It acknowledges that smoking weed on your buddy's sofa is the "safest thing in the world." (Which is true. I actually had a friend named Pete in high school, and we did get high on his couch. No turmoil ensued.) The ad's main contention is that it's important to get off that couch and out into the world, where you can do things like ice skate with other teens. (Also true. It is indeed good to engage with the outside world, instead of just sitting in your rec room. Though I'd note that it's possible to smoke pot in your rec room one day and then go ice skating the next. Or even just smoke pot and immediately go ice skating—which, come to think of it, sounds like a blast. Who's in?)

Well, I don't support the use of any drugs, including alcohol, but I'm also tired of people telling lies about what marijuana does to you. Is it a "gateway" drug? No evidence backs that assertion. Is it addictive? Pretty much all scientists agree that it isn't. Is it good for you? No, it really isn't unless you have glaucoma.

Most of us recall being told always to tell the truth by our parents or authority figures when growing up, and the moral of many a cartoon is "honesty is the best policy". Well, the same goes for those who would argue against the use of marijuana. So let's welcome these new anti-drug commercials and praise them for their honesty before sighing with exasperation at the futility of them and wondering why the government wastes our money.