Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jan 2014
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Jan Hefler

BILLBOARD WAR OVER WEED BREAKS OUT AT SUPER BOWL

As the debate over the legalization of marijuana gathers steam, newly 
invigorated pro- and anti-weed groups are erecting catchy billboards 
outside MetLife Stadium as the Big Game nears.

The Marijuana Policy Project is launching two billboards Thursday 
night near the stadium to tackle a billboard put up on Wednesday by 
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a group that wants marijuana to 
remain illegal. The competing billboards play with images of 
footballs, the brain, weed, and alcohol to score points on the eve of 
the Super Bowl.

The SAM group, led by former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, put up a billboard 
Wednesday that shows a football player in flight beneath the words: 
"Motivation, Perseverance, Determination," next to the weed symbol 
and the words: "None of the Above." It concludes: "Marijuana kills your drive."

The Marijuana Policy Project, which has been lobbying for a change in 
marijuana policy since 2000, is hitting back with a billboard that 
shows a shot of tequila beneath a message that says: "Overdose 
Deaths, Violent Crimes, Serious Injuries." Then, it shows a marijuana 
leaf that says, again: "None of the Above."

For years, the Marijuana Policy Project has argued that alcohol is 
worse than marijuana and that marijuana should be regulated in the 
same way as alcohol. President Obama recently said he, too, believes 
marijuana is the lesser vice.

Kennedy's group says that legalization will create a "new 
permissiveness" and will allow another vice to become readily 
available to the public.

Meanwhile, glitzy Super Bowl commercials will continue to pay homage 
to beer shortly after kickoff.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom