Pubdate: Thu, 04 Feb 2016
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2016 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: Dan Kingston

GRASS PARTY

Phoenix Open-Inspired Billboard Aims to Educate Golf Lovers and More 
on Marijuana Legalization

Backers of a proposed ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition 
in Arizona launched a Phoenix Open-inspired billboard on Monday, Feb. 
1 to coincide with the kickoff of the golf tournament. It will be up 
through the end of the tournament on Sunday, Feb. 7.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the world's best-attended golf 
tournament, according to the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors 
Bureau, which refers to the tournament as the "greatest show on grass."

The billboard features two adult marijuana consumers relaxing in a 
field and reads, "If beer and golf make for the 'greatest party on 
grass'... Why can't adults enjoy a safer party on grass?"

"We're glad that Arizona residents have the opportunity to attend the 
Open, consume alcoholic beverages, and enjoy the 'greatest party on 
grass,'" said Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol chairman 
J.P. Holyoak. "We also think it's important to acknowledge that 
alcohol is a much more harmful substance than marijuana.

"Alcohol is more toxic, more addictive, and more likely to contribute 
to rowdy or violent behavior," Holyoak said. "If spectators can enjoy 
a beer or cocktail at the TPC, adults should not be arrested for 
enjoying a little marijuana at a backyard picnic. It is, quite 
literally, a safer party on grass."

The billboard directs viewers to Marijuana-vs-Alcohol.org, which 
details several ways in which marijuana is significantly less harmful 
than alcohol to the consumer and to society.

The CRMLA is in the process of collecting signatures in support of a 
November ballot initiative that would make marijuana legal for adults 
21 years of age and older in Arizona and establish a system in which 
it is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol.

"Our state took a shot at marijuana prohibition and landed in a 
hazard," Holyoak said. "We are giving Arizona a mulligan on its 
marijuana policy and letting voters take another swing at it this 
fall. For our part, we will continue to educate Arizonans about the 
relative harms of marijuana and alcohol as we tee up this initiative 
for November."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom