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Feds Take Aim at Medical Marijuana Ads

Newspapers, radio stations could face Justice Department's wrath

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 13, 2011 5:39 PM CDT

(Newser) – The next step in the war on drugs may be a war on ads. A federal attorney tells California Watch that she'll be cracking down on newspapers, radio stations, and other outlets that accept advertising for the medical marijuana industry. "I'm not just seeing print advertising," says Laura Duffy. "I'm actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising. It's gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate—one has to wonder what kind of message we're sending to our children—it's against the law."

But the law is murky: It targets the entity who "places" an ad for an illegal drug. That could put the publication itself at risk, notes a lawyer, because it's the publication that's "physically putting" the ad out there. That's how Duffy sees it, she says. "I am willing to read (the law) expansively and if a court wants to more narrowly define it, that would be up to the court." California is one of seven states that allows marijuana to be distributed at dispensaries, but the Justice Department says federal law trumps state law.

A bag of medical marijuana prescription bottles.
A bag of medical marijuana prescription bottles.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 19 comments
saucier111
Oct 14, 2011 3:55 PM CDT
What ever happened to we the people, we the people legally voted into law medical marijuana,does our vote count or not,who is running this show,it's definetley not we the people.  Marijuaua is the safest therapeutically active substance known to man kind. Marijuana has been used for medical purposes for over 7000 years,but in 1937 because of greed and racism and lies it became illegal.
Outrageous
Oct 14, 2011 12:09 PM CDT
I would much rather hear and see Mary Jane ads than have to be constantly barraged with Viagra and Cialis commercials.
malcolmkyle
Oct 14, 2011 8:52 AM CDT
These 'fast & furious' gun-running Feds are not only guilty of perjury and murder but also of bankrolling ruthless criminals, international terrorists, right/left-wing paramilitaries and various death squads with their counter-productive, sado-moralist policy of Prohibition. Colombia, Peru, Mexico or Afghanistan with their coca leaves, marijuana buds or poppy sap are not igniting temptation in the minds of our weak, innocent citizens. These countries are duly responding to the enormous demand that comes from within our own borders. Invading or destroying these countries, thus creating more hate, violence, instability, injustice and corruption, will not fix our problem. We need to collectively admit that we are sick. -- Prohibition is neither a sane nor a safe approach; left unabated, its puritanical flames will surely engulf every last one of us! When we legally regulate something, (as opposed to when we foolishly attempt to prohibit something) we do NOT automatically condone it's use; the legal regulations concerning the sale and manufacture of alcohol and tobacco are there to protect us from the vast increase in criminality and mayhem that would otherwise surely exist if we were foolish enough to prohibit them. When governments prohibit drugs they effectively and knowingly hand a monopoly on their sale to dangerous criminals and terrorists. Without a legal framework in which to operate, these black-market entities can always be expected to settle their disputes violently, while terrorizing many peaceful and innocent citizens in the process. Were the users of alcohol to blame for the St Valentines massacre in the US in 1929? Of course not! It is just as naive to assume that one can compel all the users of Marijuana or Cocaine to simply quit, as it is to assume that all the users of Alcohol should have stopped drinking after the introduction of alcohol prohibition in 1919. Protect our Children; Legalize, Regulate & Tax!

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