Doobie or Not Doobie
by January 20, 2003 12:00 am 58 views
The Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas Inc. was miffed on Jan. 15 after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette refused to publish its advertisement for medical marijuana.
“We’re not sure what criteria is used by the Democrat-Gazette in denying publication for this ad,” Denele Campbell, spokesperson for the Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said in a press release. “Two-thirds of the state’s voters support this measure, so it seems reasonable to expect that the only daily paper with statewide circulation would be considerate of the majority’s interest.”
The one-column, one-inch ad was submitted to the newspaper’s Springdale office to be published in the D-G statewide. It contained the words “Compassion, Common Sense,” followed by a Web site address and telephone number. But someone in the D-G’s Little Rock office put the kibosh on the ad.
Paul Smith, general manager for the D-G, cleared up the confusion for us late that day.
“They thought the ad was for someone trying to sell medical marijuana,” Smith said. “That’s why they rejected it.”
If the purpose of the ad is to generate support to possibly change a law, Smith said, then he has no problem with it. “But I think the ad needs to be clearer,” he said.
“I would never reject an ad that’s intended to gain public support.”
Smith said the D-G called the Alliance back to let the organization know it can run an ad in the newspaper if the wording is changed to better explain its purpose.
According to the press release from the Alliance, the people most likely to oppose medical marijuana are “born-again Christians (44 percent)” and Republicans. That information was based on a poll conducted in November by Zogby International.