Pubdate: Fri, 14 Sep 2012
Source: Boston Globe Magazine, The (MA)
Copyright: 2012 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www.boston.com/globe/magazine
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3506
Author: Melissa M. Werthmann

CREATOR OF SPOOF MEDICAL MARIJUANA SITE COMES FORWARD

Scott Gacek's friends call him the "Weed Master," a play on
"Webmaster," to highlight his computer skills.

He says he's the guy behind the marijuana spoof site that hijacked the
website address listed in the state voters' guide for the committee
opposing Question 3, which would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana.

The committee submited VoteNoOnQuestion3.org for the voter guide but
never registered the URL.

When Gacek, 35, realized the domain was available, he bought it and
set up the joke site in less than four hours on Tuesday.

"I did it for fun," he said. "It was kind of a 'set it and forget it'
kind of thing."

The local freelance web designer buys domain names and creates
pro-marijuana websites. He also writes for a pro-marijuana reform blog.

"I'm a very vocal proponent of medical marijuana," Gacek said. "I
can't wait for it to pass in November."

The real vote-no campaign sent out a press release saying that medical
marijuana supporters were tampering with the democratic process
through "underhanded efforts." But a campaign spokesman acknowledged
that the committee had made a mistake. The group has now created an
official site at MAVoteNoOnQuestion3.com.

When Gacek first went on the hunt for anti-marijuana sites, he said
his search came up empty.

"I thought, there's no real opposition, so let's have some fun with it
and make some fake opposition," he said.

Gacek's goal was simple: create a satirical Onion-like website to
debunk what he considers to be common myths, propaganda, and lies.

"I wanted to poke some fun at some of the reasons why people will say
that medical marijuana is bad," he said.

The post Gacek is most proud of so far is one about a Massachusetts
drug dealers union urging voters to vote against marijuana regulation.
"I try to be informative with it at the same time," he said.

Gacek said his site is an obvious spoof and that he had no intention
to confuse voters or sabotage opponents of the legislation.

He also said he is not part of the Committee for Compassionate
Medicine, which supports passage of Question 3.

His connection is "nothing more than sending in anonymous donations
from time to time," he said.

The Weed Master called his website "a little twist on reality" and
said he might update its content in the future.

"It's not exactly top priority right now," Gacek said. "I have a lot
of other projects going on."
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MAP posted-by: Matt