Times Front Page Goes to Pot (Outtakes Opinion)

We wonder what the editors of the Northwest Arkansas Times were thinking when they OK’d the use of a stock clip art image of a marijuana leaf on Page 1.
The leaf floated in the middle of a very concise story on March 8 about a drug bust the previous day.
We know full well how challenging it can be to get interesting art to accompany stories, and we even agree with the sparse use of stock images to catch readers’ attention. But a pot leaf on the front page without a supporting package story and photos of the perpetrators is sensationalistic.
At least the Times had the tact to place the leaf below the fold.