cannabisnews.com: Controversial Pot Billboard Goes Up
Controversial Pot Billboard Goes Up
Posted by CN Staff on October 19, 2005 at 13:58:13 PT
By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Colorado -- Backers of a Denver marijuana legalization ballot measure unveiled a billboard today proclaiming "Alcohol use makes domestic violence 8 times more likely...Marijuana use does not." The text-only advertisement on Federal Boulevard near Invesco Field at Mile High debuted just days after Initiative 100 supporters scrapped plans for a controversial billboard bearing the emotionally charged image of a battered woman and her abuser with the slogan: "Reduce family and community violence in Denver. Vote Yes on I-100."
Nowhere did the billboard mention marijuana or that the measure’s passage would amend Denver law to make it legal for adults to possess 1 ounce or less of the drug. Political leaders and domestic violence advocates condemned the ads for misleading voters and exploiting the tragedy of abused women. Anti-violence advocates said while alcohol use may compound abuse by someone predisposed to domestic violence, drinking does not make someone a batterer. "We do not back down from the message conveyed in (the cancelled) billboard, but we do understand that it has offended and upset a number of folks," Mason Tvert, head of the I-100 sponsor, Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, said a noon news conference under the billboard at Federal and 20th Avenue. "We have decided to change it so that it is less graphic and more detailed in conveying our message that if adults are allowed to use marijuana instead of alcohol we might be able to avert a number of alcohol-related crimes that occur in this city." The new billboard’s message, underscoring the increased likelihood of abuse with alcohol in red, is based on a 2003 study by addiction researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo.Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Author: Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain NewsPublished: October 19, 2005Copyright: 2005 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Change The Climatehttp://www.changetheclimate.org/Pot Backers Delay Billboardshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21202.shtmlPot Backers Won't Halt Domestic Violence Adshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21193.shtmlPot Law Backers Draw Flakhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21190.shtml
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Comment #24 posted by Toker00 on October 20, 2005 at 09:21:59 PT
unkat27
I understand. I just can't help but feel optomistic that we are really more than just a social experiment. I believe that the "power" does lie with the people, if we could all just learn how to "embrace" that power. Words won't do it entirely. It is the actions we are going to have to choose to take sooner or later that trouble me. Do you understand?Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #23 posted by Toker00 on October 20, 2005 at 09:14:06 PT
Greenjoy
Amen. And as far as mixing them, Alcohol overpowers weed. Every time. For me, at least. And with that overpowering comes depression, anger, and yes, violence. If you take two men of equal temperament, get one stoned the other drunk, you will see very different reactions. Reverse the choice, and I think you would still see the same "different" reactions. There is just something volatile about the spirit of alcohol, and something peaceful about the spirit of cannabis, though they both release comparable amounts of energy, IMHO. I always regretted spending my money on alcohol, I felt like it was such a waste, but I have never been sorry about money spent on weed. I don't see it as a waste. Ever.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #22 posted by unkat27 on October 20, 2005 at 09:11:19 PT
Legal Mj Option = Less Alcohol Abuse
"The question is, if cannabis was legal as a recreational drug, whether some people would switch to using cannabis instead of alchohol. If so, there would be a reduction in domestic violence." -- E_JohnsonI know of many people, beginning with myself, who would use alcohol much less, if not quit completely, if they had safe access to legal cannabis. I know many reformed alcoholics feel the same way. Even if people did not stop using alcohol completely, from my experience, its an accurate guess to expect many would NOT abuse alcohol to such excess, given the marijuana option.
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on October 20, 2005 at 09:10:03 PT
It's probably happened before,
but never in my life have I known a popular vote of the people
in this country to be reversed and ignored like it has been about the marijuana/cannabis issue. Not just Chicago, but Washington D.C. and who knows where else?I was awed...in a very bad way.
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Comment #20 posted by unkat27 on October 20, 2005 at 09:03:16 PT
US Democracy? I don't see it.
"If all cannabists would out themselves, organize and vote, we could pull any election for legalization, medical OR recreational, our way." -- Toker00Actually, here in the Mass-state, where Change the Climate has its roots, the majority has voted in favor of legalization of medical marijuana and reforms for decriminality of marijuana-possession for many years. Every time it has happened, the Governor and Congress and most of the local politicians have vetoed it and simply said, "It isn't an official vote, it hasn't been recognized by Congress (or some such hoo-ha)." Taken to Congress, the "official" vote has been knocked down by conservative politicians from all red-states and their coproate lobbyists -- big money, which we now know comes mostly from pharmaceutical companies. I mean, I don't like to throw a damper on the high hopes, but the big pigs are still a big problem, especially in the state capitols and the big Warshingten DC-ver.
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Comment #19 posted by GreenJoy on October 20, 2005 at 08:02:54 PT
The Crux Of The Biscuit
For me, Cannabis and alcohol don't even come close to scratching the same itch.
GJ
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Comment #18 posted by charmed quark on October 20, 2005 at 07:36:25 PT
E_Johnson - the question is ...
Most studies I've seen indicate there is little assoication between cannabis intoxication and violence. And many studies show the correlation between alchohol and violence.The question is, if cannabis was legal as a recreational drug, whether some people would switch to using cannabis instead of alchohol. If so, there would be a reduction in domestic violence.I HAVE seen some studies that indicate that some people will use cannabis instead of alchohol, but the evidence is not strong. Some people would simply use cannabis on top of alchohol.So the implied assertion of the billboard, that the initiative would reduce violence, is weak. A lot stronger than a lot of political assertions. But maybe you are right that bad politics is just bad politics.I don't know. My personel belief is it would have little effect on violence. But legalization would reduce somehat the number of people who routinely get intoxicated on cannabis ( based on following countries like the netherlands and Canada). Probably by removing the "forbidden fruit" effect. Ignoring the implied assertion, the sign does give accurate information, something that is seldomed allowed by the prohibitionists who say that if you smoke dope you will get amotivational syndrome, suffer permanent memeory loss, get lung cancer, get various psychiatric diseases, and run over little girls on tricycles or shoot your best friend while playing with guns.-CQ
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Comment #17 posted by siege on October 20, 2005 at 06:16:38 PT
OT good read
DON'T BE A BIG PHARMA VICTIM - USE COMMON SENSEDr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND and
Elissa Meininger
October 20, 2005
NewsWithViews.comA study called “Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Drugs in Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia”, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in September 2005, compared how well some of the newer psychiatric drugs stacked up against their older competitors. Some interesting and unexpected findings were revealed. http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn16.htm
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Comment #16 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 20, 2005 at 04:44:46 PT
I Hope It's Effect To Pass In Denver
When the majority of cities in a state legalize and regulate marijuana, then the states have to legalize it too. When the majority of states legalize and regulate marijuana, then the federal government will be forced to change their ignorant anti-marijuana laws and we can get on with our lives in peace. Hopefully, we'll be a little less dependent on the dangerous drug alcohol, which has and does devastate so many lives.
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Comment #15 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on October 19, 2005 at 23:08:24 PT
Bring out the facts and let the people decide
Way to go Change the Climate! The organizagtion has the right idea bring the issues straight to the people. Someday America will truely be a free and rich nation.
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Comment #14 posted by E_Johnson on October 19, 2005 at 22:15:57 PT
Making false promises is not "well done"
It's right to state a statistic about the correlation between violence and alcohol. It's wrong to try to twist that statistic into an implied promise that if marijuana is legalized, there will be less domestic violence.observer I hope you understand why I'm making a distinction between these two things. It's right to say something that's true, but it's wrong to bend something that's true into a promise that's false.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 19, 2005 at 22:15:17 PT
Thanks EJ
I am glad that the word marijuana is on the billboard. Every person that drives by will see the name marijuana. That's important.
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Comment #12 posted by E_Johnson on October 19, 2005 at 22:11:04 PT
I agree FoM
The new billboard states something that is true. The old one implied something that wasn't true. It made a false promise. This new billboard doesn't make any false promises, it just states a fact, and people can read what they want into that fact.
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Comment #11 posted by siege on October 19, 2005 at 21:36:35 PT
domestic violence
Vietnam:
If you have a few drinks and come home and something cause a Flash Back look out it happen all the time. Some woman can not back off at that time I have one that don't back off and I have not had a drink in 30 years, when a man turns his Back to you and walks away that should tell you something but you are not smart enough to know then it's your as* sorry. you have to make that point!!
The dam air force that flys over and bust the sound barrier 3 to 5 times a day the last mo. there testing that new dam fighter they have I hit the floor every time they go over. and I have called the donkeys, they say sorry we have to test them. I've had to have more green then I've normally use. And then they wonder why there is so much domestic violence all the way around....
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Comment #10 posted by GreenJoy on October 19, 2005 at 21:16:12 PT
Reservations
Rightfully low on the totem pole I am. I yield to my elders. There is no doubt about the devastation of alcohol. Still, there is something unsettling about this approach of don't drink, smoke pot angle. I hope it works. There is undeniable truth to it. The theory of chaos at work?
GJ
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Comment #9 posted by goneposthole on October 19, 2005 at 20:35:10 PT
climate change
How many country music songs have been written about drinking and broken relationships? More than I care to know."Don't come home a drinking with loving on your mind" - Loretta Lynn"If drinking don't kill me, her memory will""I'm going to hire a wino to decorate our home""Third rate romance, low rent rendevous""She's acting single, I'm drinking doubles"A man becomes suspicious that his wife is fooling around on him, he goes out and gets drunk, jeolously leads to anger, he imagines his wife committing adultery, he comes home and accuses her of doing so, if he is angry enough, he beats her.It happens again and again.If country music songs about drinking and fooling around were banned and prohibited by country music song prohibitionists, there would still be drinking and fooling around. Stopping the music won't stop the behavior. "By conservative estimates, 1.5 million women in the United States are assaulted by their intimate partners every year."http://www.acadv.org/facts.htmlAlcohol is involved with a high number of those incidents of domestic violence.Bill Cosby made a sick joke about domestic violence on the Johnny Carson show one night in a comedy routine. He said: "I fake with the right and she falls for the left everytime."It wasn't very funny.Reducing alcohol abuse and increasing marijuana use may not reduce domestic violence, but it is probably worth a try to find out what it might do.Alcohol abuse is linked to domestic violence. It's a huge problem. We all know that. Legal marijuana might help reduce the number of incidents."I've got a good woman. What's the matter with me? What makes me want to love every woman I see?" - Waylon Jennings"Two broken hearts lonely looking like
houses where nobody lives.
Two people each having so much pride
inside
Neither side forgives.The angry words spoken in haste,
Such a waste of two lives,
It's my belief,
Pride is the chief cause and the decline
in the number of husbands and wives." - Roger MillerTime to change the climate. Legal marijuana might do it.
Roger MIller
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on October 19, 2005 at 18:29:01 PT
Coors Land
Anti-violence advocates said while alcohol use may compound abuse by someone predisposed to domestic violence, drinking does not make someone a batterer.I wonder if any of the "anti-violence advocates" are actually executives from the Coors Brewery! On an unrelated note, it looks like "the hammer" could get nailed...Texas Court Issues Warrant for DeLay:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/10/19/national/w112706D64.DTLTHE WAY OUT...Former CIA Analyst: Government May Be Manufacturing Fake Terrorism:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/october2005/191005McGovern.htmOperation Northwoods: U.S. Military Planned Fake Terror on U.S. Cities:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92662&page=1Complete 9/11 Timeline: Able Danger program:
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&before_9/11=ableDanger9/11 Was an Inside Job - A Call to All True Patriots:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/
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Comment #7 posted by charmed quark on October 19, 2005 at 17:15:38 PT
Yes, very clever
If they did this on purpose, it really is clever. I was a little offended by the proposed billboards since they didn't say what the proposition was for. There's enough smoke and mirrors in politics already. But those billboards never went up - they simply got a powerful dialog going.Now, perfectly clear (and accurate) billboards are going up that will support the dialog started by the vapor billboards.-CQ
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Comment #6 posted by boballen1313 on October 19, 2005 at 17:13:33 PT
I AGREE WITH RUSH LIMBAUGH!
Rush has found that "wonder-place" where he has declared his god given privilege to self medicate is sanctified behaviour. To freely alter his many moods is really a wonderful blessing on humanity, and the very best part of "wonder-place" he can tell the law to get stuffed!! GO RUSH GO!!! RUSH LIMBAUGH'S RIGHT TO ALTER HIS BEAUTIFUL MIND!
POTHEADS FOR RUSH LIMBAUGH!!! HE'S OUR MAN!
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Comment #5 posted by observer on October 19, 2005 at 16:03:19 PT
well done!
"Alcohol use makes domestic violence 8 times more likely...Marijuana use does not."Notice how Change the Climate got both of the messages out. In spasms of righteous indignation, the very groups that said they most opposed the message, effectively spread the campaign's first message: "Reduce family and community violence in Denver. Vote Yes on I-100." They did it far better than a few billboards alone could have done, had that message gone up (on the billboards). The "revised" message, "Alcohol use makes domestic violence 8 times more likely...Marijuana use does not," effectively answered the vocal critics of the (proposed) first message. Reformers:
Reduce family and community violence in Denver. Vote Yes on I-100.Critics:
It is trying to sell the issue of marijuana on the backs of the victims of domestic violence, when the two really having nothing to do with each other! Didn't mention marijuana! Reformers:
Alcohol use makes domestic violence 8 times more likely...Marijuana use does not.Now both messages and the dialog are reverberating in the media. Well done, Change the Climate!
http://drugwarpropaganda.news-bot.net/
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Comment #4 posted by Toker00 on October 19, 2005 at 16:01:24 PT
runruff
If I'm not mistaken, the Supremacist Court still does not have the absolute power. The PEOPLE do. But with their lies and brainwashing techniques making the PEOPLE harder to organize against them, the PEOPLE have to get smarter. I see evidence of this happening, probably more than the younger posters here, because I have seen tremendous social and political change in my lifetime. I'm 51. It takes numbers. We have a power block of votes. If all cannabists would out themselves, organize and vote, we could pull any election for legalization, medical OR recreational, our way. Even local elections, where most of us don't ever vote. Organize local. There are probably more of us out there than we ever imagined. Imagine...I know that is what a lot of us ARE doing, but I had a bud and I thought what I was saying was meaningful in some way...: ) so there. Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on October 19, 2005 at 16:00:14 PT
Take Your Pill
Nicely said rr, though I think that Domestic Violence was dealt a blow by this dicision, it is still a democracy, thank intelligent design or whatever your lawyer tells you.I can just see it, the coalition of the united narcotic law enforcement officers in this free and demoractic US, will converge and blow a loud noise, the children..the children, we need to be able to protect the children, we need to have more control, because if this bill passes, it will be the end of the world.Take a pill or have another drink, this bud is for you'all
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on October 19, 2005 at 15:14:32 PT:
Silk purse from a sows ear.
It can't be done.
Getting integrity out of government
can't be done because governments are not integrise by nature.
We need more control over our legislooters that's all there is to it. We need control over the supreme court. Absolute power corrupts absolute. And what about when a counterfeit president appoints a judge to the supreme court. We're
stuck with it for life. A free country is not free if a body of authority can rule with impunity any way they want and claim they are interpiting the law. A 5-4 decision is not exacty writen in stone now is it? But we as a nation are stuck with it if we like it or not. We need control over the demigods on in the supreme court. We need to out law lobbying in congress. A hand full of rich people have it thier way while 300 million of us have to live with it.
See most what we do is frivalous so long as the deck is stacked against us. If we are a free country then we should start acting like it or take our pill and shut up.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 19, 2005 at 14:23:19 PT
That's Much Better
"Alcohol use makes domestic violence 8 times more likely...Marijuana use does not."
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