Pro-pot editorials bring rebuttal
A coalition of groups is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times this weekend, advocating against the maturing movement to legalize marijuana.
A coalition of groups is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times this weekend, advocating against the maturing movement to legalize marijuana.
The ad comes in response to a New York Times editorial series launched last weekend arguing for an end to marijuana prohibition. The newspaper's editorial board advocated for an end to the federal ban on the drug.
The ad features a businessman with the pasted-on head of a hippie, a visual metaphor for what the groups warn is the disconnected perception and reality of legalization.
"The legalization of marijuana means ushering in an entirely new group of corporations whose primary source of revenue is a highly habit-forming product," the ad reads. "Sounds a lot like another industry we just put in its place. Many facts are being ignored by this and other news organizations. Go to GrasslsNotGreener.com to see why so many major medical associations oppose marijuana legalization."
The website, which contains resources about the dangers of marijuana, is affiliated with Project SAM, which stands for Smart Approaches to Marijuana. The nonprofit was co-founded by Patrick Kennedy, a former U.S. representative, and Kevin Sabet, a professor and former drug policy adviser to the Obama administration. It advocates against legalization, but in favor of dropping mandatory minimum sentences and removing criminal penalties while expunging records for low-level users of the drug, and pushes for better access to treatment, education, and prevention. The group contends that legalization risks the creation of a predatory industry.
The coalition behind the new website includes the American Society of Addiction Medicine, which includes more than 3,000 addiction physician and professional members; the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, a nonprofit whose members include judges, lawyers, and clinical specialists; National Families in Action, a group dedicated to getting state laws passed to prevent marketing of drugs and drug use to children; and Parents Opposed to Pot.
