Feds Plan Crackdown on Media Outlets That Advertise Marijuana

Publications that specialize in Medical Marijuana
Advertising are now common place in many states.

   In another sign of the Obama Administration's escalating war on medical marijuana, Federal prosecutors in California announced Wednesday that they are set to begin actively targeting newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana.

   U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy, a prosecutor in San Diego, is leading the effort.

   “I’m not just seeing print advertising,” Duffy said in a recent interview with California Watch and KQED. “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.”

   Federal law makes it illegal for any person to place an advertisement for a controlled substance. Up until now, courts have generally interpreted that to mean that the person paying for the ad would be responsible, but now officials are saying that media outlets themselves could be held accountable because they are the ones physically placing the ad for publication. 

   My personal message to Mrs. Duffy: I'm well aware of the message that these ads send to our children. They send the message that marijuana is a natural medicine that can help with a whole slew of debilitating illnesses. They send the message that marijuana can ease the suffering of people who really need it. I think the message being sent to our children is exactly the one that needs to be sent. People like you go around spreading disinformation and demonizing what is essentially a medicinal herb. Why not start a campaign against advertising St. John's Wart instead? It makes just about as much sense as attacking marijuana.