Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Marijuana advertising lies, so where’s the outrage?

Billboards across the country advertise marijuana with false health claims that would never be allowed for tobacco or alcohol.  Big, bold and high (no pun intended), these signs help to sell the drug — while being seen by thousands of children.

Seen in Massachusetts

Why can’t state regulators stop these assaults on the public that attempt to portray weed as the road to a long life and better health?

Our answer: the cannabis industry which has legions of lobbyists in state governments — routinely prevails against sensible legislation. Only the states of Vermont and Montana ban billboard advertising. Most states struggle to regulate marijuana because the industry overpowers legislators with incredible promises.

Portland, Oregon

This sampling of billboards from around the country proves that the cannabis industry gets away with “murder” in legalization states.  It also proves that the ganjapreneurs, or so-called cannabis “doctors,” make fraudulent claims.  

Las Vegas

Quack Medicine and Phony Doctors

No ethical doctor would claim that cannabis is the road to a long and healthy life.  It’s about as medical as 100-proof alcohol.  Heavy, long-term cannabis users, like smokers and heavy drinkers, shorten their lives.   Even when some choose cannabis for palliative care, the drug doesn’t do anything comparable to real medicine.  Many with cancer try cannabis and reject it. Washington state

The “medical” marijuana industry’s false advertising began when they adopted a green cross, a pharmaceutical sign used in Europe.  The gimmick continued by using the term “dispensary, ” which means a clinic, or a room where medicine is dispensed.  Marijuana is numbness, not medicine.   Chicago in 2021

The pot industry understands addiction marketing.   In Chicago, 2021, Cresco Labs ran billboards repeating the word, EVERYDAY several times.   Of course, a public outcry followed.  

Marketing sex

After public outcry, an advertisement for cannabis-infused drinks near O’Hare Airport was replaced with something less sexual.

More recently, drivers into Chicago and O’ Hare Airport were greeted with a large billboard exclaiming that cannabis-infused drinks are better than SEX.  Big bold letters and hot red on a white background were used to capture attention.

A public outcry followed, with complaints written in the Chicago newspapers.  We’re happy to see that the sign was recently replaced,  but it still advertises for cannabis-infused drinks.

In Washington state, signs of pretty young women lure people into a pot shop called “Green Lady Marijuana.”

What about the Freebies?  

In Colorado, one billboard announced Free Dabs.   

Even worse, an activist group in Washington, DC,  gave out free marijuana with COVID shots.  The program was called “Joints for Jabs.”   Washington, DC, bans pot shops but allows gifting.

Most despicable are the advertising campaigns trying to get parents, and particularly women, to use weed.   Based on the number of child abuse deaths caused by pot-using parents and the knowledge that pregnant women must not use cannabis, these promoters must be stopped.

We may hate the cannabis industry, but give them credit for being some of the biggest con artists of our era — better than Big Tobacco and the opioid industry.

Have any complaints ever worked? 

Yes, a Colorado store with a mural of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street was forced to take it down after Sesame Street sued.  

Cookie Monster with pot cookies in Colorado, 2015.  A lawsuit forced the mural to be removed.

In California, a father complained the pot shops weren’t following the promise of Prop 64 not to advertise on interstate highways. He sued and won.

Editor’s Note:  Many of these signs are no longer visible, but the article is meant to alert the public of cannabis industry tactics.

With the push to legalize, pediatric pot poisonings surge

Pot poisonings are increasing the caseload of emergency rooms, all over the country

Over the last decade, there has been a national push to legalize marijuana. Pop stars, athletes, actors, and politicians have created a culture celebrating Pot as a wonderfully benign narcotic. So far, twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., have legalized weed, with several others laying the groundwork to do so. However, as more data becomes readily available from studying the impact of legalization, it is becoming clear that making weed legal has had one devastating effect – endangering the lives of children.  

Our last article revealed over 300 child abuse and neglect deaths associated with cannabis. 

Recent studies have revealed a correlation between the legalization of recreational marijuana for adults with a significant increase in “pediatric cannabis poisonings.” Continue reading With the push to legalize, pediatric pot poisonings surge

International drug dealers move in, hiding behind legal pot

This week’s front-page article about the mass murder of seven in the Los Angeles Times demonstrates that international marijuana growers have infiltrated the United States.

If seven Americans had been shot in a similar fashion, it would be the main topic of nightly news.  But the victims were middle-aged men and women from Laos.  It happened on a marijuana farm in Riverside County in California, on September 7, 2020.  The status of the murdered farm workers is unclear; they may be indentured servants, slaves or victims of human trafficking. 

This crime doesn’t fit the narrative that the US government’s “War on Drugs” is responsible for killings at drug operations.  The Drug Policy Alliance turned the “War on Drugs” into a negative term, asserting that drug dealers are innocent victims. Continue reading International drug dealers move in, hiding behind legal pot

AOC and Senator Crapo Hold key to marijuana Banking

Social justice failure of legalizing weed

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez exposed the fact that marijuana legalization fails as a social justice issue. https://youtu.be/kW7fWM04Uyc   The Congresswoman spoke to the House Committee on Financial Services on February 13, 2019. She pointed out that 81% of dispensaries in Colorado are owned by whites, and that only 3% of dispensaries in Massachusetts are minority owned.  Representative Ocasio-Cortez spoke at a House committee meeting discussing access to banking services for the marijuana industry.

Senate considers SAFE Banking Act

Senator Mike Crapo and the Senate Banking Committee are now considering the SAFE Banking Act. According to a secret recording of April 2018, Ukrainian businessman Lev Parnas urged President Trump to support the SAFE Banking Act.  It is assumed that Parnas wanted to own or invest in American marijuana businesses. Continue reading AOC and Senator Crapo Hold key to marijuana Banking