Opponents of Question 4 last week launched a dramatic TV ad portraying a fearful mother guiding her young daughter through streets loaded with pot shops, the imagined result if voters approve the legalization of recreational marijuana. It invited a boatload of online snark from supporters of legalization.

But shops where customers can purchase rolling papers, bongs, herb grinders and other paraphernalia are springing up all over the city and the commonwealth today — when the selling of recreational pot is still illegal. If Question 4 passes, the idea of those “smoke shops” turning into pot shops is not far-fetched.

Question 4, which would legalize the sale, possession and use of marijuana by adults, represents an exceedingly complex change in state law — stretching to 11 pages of single-spaced text in the voter information booklet. It therefore has no place on the ballot as drafted, but since it’s there the appropriate thing for Massachusetts voters to do is vote NO.

There are clear arguments against Question 4, starting with the utter hypocrisy of a state that is struggling to bring an epidemic of drug addiction under control moving to ease restrictions on recreational drug use.

Supporters of legalization argue that pot isn’t addictive, and say claims of it being a gateway to heavier drug use aren’t backed up by data. But rather than listen to those with a financial interest in legalization we heed the words of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a recovering alcoholic, who notes that most addicts get their start with pot. Massachusetts physicians and hospitals also oppose Question 4, noting the extreme potency of today’s marijuana and the negative impact of pot use on developing brains. Use by adolescents has increased in states that have legalized pot use for adults.

And the inclusion of edibles — from THC-laced gummy bears to drinks and those ever-popular brownies — raise incrementally the risk of accidental use by children.

In addition to public health there are a slew of public safety issues. The number of fatal accidents involving drivers with pot in their systems has increased by 62 percent in the three years since Colorado legalized pot use. There is still no reliable way to measure marijuana intoxication (Question 4 backers say that’s “in development” — yep, that’s reassuring).

And as we learned from the Boston City Council this week there would be no restriction on convicted marijuana traffickers getting into the pot biz. In fact City Councilor Tito Jackson says legalization would invite drug dealers to “come out of the shadows.” How is that a good idea!

Along with Councilor Ayanna Pressley, Jackson sees in legalization a tremendous business opportunity for budding minority entrepeneurs. Forget about training in the trades or mentoring in financial services — just open a pot shop and your problems will be solved.

The ballot question also imposes a far lower tax on the sale of marijuana than other states that have gone down this road, raising serious questions about an adequate source of revenue to regulate and enforce the new law.

Supporters of Question 4 have misled voters into believing the nation’s jails are filled with casual pot smokers and voting yes will reverse that injustice. That is, simply put, a lie.

We could continue — and probably fill 11 single-spaced pages with the reasons to oppose Question 4 as written. We urge Massachusetts voters to vote “no.”