This fifteen second Flash animation from NORML touting the economic benefit of marijuana legalization was too objectionable to CBS, who canceled NORML’s contract to place the following on the giant “Super Billboard” in Times Square:
We also noted the hypocrisy of telling us that NORML’s ad was too contentious an issue ad for the billboard while running – on Super Bowl Sunday – the controversial Focus on the Family anti-abortion ad featuring college QB Tim Tebow and his mother:
It does not matter which side of the abortion debate you lie, you can certainly agree that abortion is one of the most contentious and controversial issues of our times. NORML, Focus on the Family, and the African-American anti-abortion outreach group Life Education and Research Network that funded these latest Atlanta billboards are all non-profit advocacy organizations lobbying for very controversial issues.
However, the anti-abortion groups seem to have no trouble getting their message out on CBS airwaves and billboards, while NORML is denied four times in two years the opportunity to pay to use the same airwaves and billboards.
I also find it interesting that the groups whose messages are accepted by CBS are trying to criminalize a legal activity (abortion), a policy position only supported by 42% of the American people surveyed in the latest Quinnipiac University poll; whereas NORML’s message of legalization rejected by CBS is a policy position supported by 44% to 53% of the American people surveyed lately by Gallup and Angus Reid. Even more interesting when CBS itself polled support for legalization at 41%.
It’s so cute how the pro-lifers are pretending to care about black children. I wonder how many of them support social justice programs so that black children in poor neighborhoods can have access to medical insurance, good food for school lunches, and better education. Since they’re mostly Republicans, I’m guessing not many.
Not only is this situation OFFENSIVE but stupid as well.
I say boycott CBS. This is a pointless TV company anyhow.
i think its boycott time
Yet another example of pure, inarguable hypocracy. Boycott agreed.
screw cbs they say their gonna air it and then change their minds at the last minute sounds to me like they have money comming in from people that dont want weed legalized. But its perfectly fine to air ads about ending a babies life.
The underlying message: We (CBS) feel that you (John Q. Public) are too stupid to make decisions for yourself – So we are making them for you…..
Guess they think the Matrix is real… and believe they should be running it?
careful what you wish for… I am all about a boycott, but do you realize you’re not boycotting just one free television station?
How about some contact information for complaining to CBS? I am quite angry about this and would like to vent that upon CBS and let them know that their bias does not go unrecognized.
[Paul Armentano responds: Please sign our petition to CBS here: http://criminaljustice.change.org/actions/view/demand_cbs_reverse_decision_declaring_pro-marijuana_ad_too_political.%5D
I’ll boycott CBS, but I don’t really watch it anyway because they don’t have any good show on it.
I can sure live without CBS and their dumb ass twisted views of whats real and what they try to feed us !
BOYCOTT !
I’m pro life and pro marijuana. Is it very rare for someone to be both pro life and pro marijuana? Why does that have to seem like a contradicition according to CBS? I think they should have aired the NORML ad as well.
I agree that a boycott is appropriate. In addition, I’d like to see NORML turn around and pay another network (A True American Network) the money that would have gone to CBS to advertise the boycott and the reason behind it. If our money isn’t good enough for CBS maybe it will be for ABC, NBC, FOX, etc.
wow, sure pro-life is a wonderful thing, bt labeling an ad “black children are an endangered species”, i think its in the more racist side, but thats just me.
F*%k CBS. Nuf’ said.
You signed this petition on Feb 12 and emailed the following targets:
Jeremy Murphy (CBS Outdoor VP Communications) , Dana McClintock (CBS Senior VP for Corporate Communications) and Leslie Moonves (CBS CEO)
Already signed it NORML on the 12th but I understand your posting it again. It’s a shame that the end prohibition group hasn’t gotten all over this one.
It says 5,139 signatures have been gathered.
I am saddened by the lack of signatures.
First of all that billboard is bullshit…
BOYCOTT…who cares how many free tv stations are effected by this…TV is killing quality family time anyway. How many american families would rather sit in front of the damn television than go out to a park or go on a bycicle ride or go for a walk and discuss their days….besides who really cares about CBS anyways
@ Kayla
Your liberal comment is a stupid as CBS. I don’t think it’s so cute that the Socialists are posing as Domokrats, and are trying to turn people that make their own choice to not have “insurance” into criminals. HHmmm, sounds like prohibition. Just another HUGE waste of money.
people have rights and when you start to crmininalize those rights you are doing a disfavor to all freedom loving human beings
people are born with freewill so why regulate that freewill
this is why we will never legalize cannabis with out esclating the movement, you have too many idiot americans, who feel its their right and duty to limit the freedom of others, based on your own moral beliefes
stop over regulating society thats how a police state is formed
americans are too stupid to realize the importance of these freedoms, how ironic that these are the same people who believe that the usa is the land of the free
well this is just another example of gigantic walleted fat cats in the coporate world sticking it to whoever they see fit,regardless of contractual obligation. the world is getting worse and worse every year. it is sad really.
It is all about the money. CBS and all the mainstream media air millions of dollars in ads from the pharmaceutical companies and I am sure they would not want to cause any conflict with them,by airing an ad for NORML.
CBS claims it is a moral issue so they don’t have to explain their support of the pharmaceutical companies.
Am I the only one here who sees how racist this message is? Black children are another SPECIES? WOW.
CBS is afraid someone might make fun of their logo.
Who owns CBS?
Find another advertiser. You are wasting your time with this CBS nonsense. They are free to do what they will with their own advertising billboards as they please. Obviously Marijuana is not going to be accepted easily in a society that has been brain washed with propaganda since their birth.
I will give you credit that your billboard looks much more professional then the last you cried about though.
[Russ responds: There is only one billboard that was rejected – the “Money Tree”. The other item you’re calling “the last” was a mock-up for “Barry the Drug Criminal” that I put together as a quick sketch while we discussed the concept and was not at all what would have been submitted. It didn’t look professional because I am not a professional ad designer. Sorry about the confusion.]
Sorry to say but the CEO`s Of these Media Outlets are in the SAME group of Greedy Bastards that run this Country into the ground so far, They buy and “Sell out” Politicians every day, They get big money for taking sides on issues, Whoever pays the most and gets big Ratings for the Network plays the “Control” Game.
Look to WHO they Ultimately have to answer to if their content is deemed Questionable, The “Federal Communications Commission”!! The whole Chain from the CEO!S on up are corrupt to some extent.
If anybody once any proof of a sinister conspiracy to keep marijuana illegal, here it is. This conspiracy must go all the way to the top. This is more secret than black projects at area 51.
So what is the government afraid of? Maybe ‘they’ think the a populous on marijuana would most likely become more peaceful? Maybe the secret government black labs discovered that marijuana causes you to become more spiritually (open minded, individually, question authority, environmentally, etc.) minded, and this can hamper the material side, read: Hippies. So in other words they think that once the populous is allowed marijuana they will more or less stop buying things and supporting society, and become poor hippies on a mission to save the world! And might succeed! So ‘they’ under no circumstances will allow widespread use and easy access to cannabis.
I would bet that the Federal government never wants marijuana legal again. I would bet they already have a plan to scare the medical marijuana movement, and the freedom we have gained under the great President Obama. My prediction, unless Obama has a second term, we are going back to the stone age with the new Republican.
CBS has always been transparently conservative. I have to wonder why NORML would even try to post an ad on there and by extension to try to send its message to conservative t.v. watchers.
Would another less narrow minded station allow for a commercial or better yet a documentary from NORML’s pov? Like PBS?
[Editor’s note: The ad was a billboard not a TV ad and Neutron Media (on behalf of CBS) solicited NORML to run the billboard. NORML did not seek out CBS….]
NORML should buy some land near that billboard and put up their ad.
SO Shannon, because the tv station is “free” we should just go on putting up with their crap?
Free or not, I’m not watching their programs any longer.
around here in Iowa fox is also part of CBS so no more simpsons o well there all reruns
The whole story isn,t told from what I understand Tim,s mother was in a country that she could not get an abortion she was sick and they wouldn,t give her an abortion…. Life was chosen for her..
I choose for me LEGALIZE IT!!
Some points I’d like to address:
Boycott CBS? That’s a whole lot of stuff to boycott. If you feel the boycott urge, be selective. If you own a copy of “Weeds” (Showtime is owned by CBS), mail it back to CBS with a protest note (“CBS won’t support marijuana legalization? I won’t be supporting ‘Weeds’ and its marijuana exploitation!”). If you don’t own “Weeds”, send a note to CBS News telling them you’re boycotting the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric (“Since you’ll play anti-abortion ads but not pro-legalization ads, how can I be certain CBS News doesn’t exhibit the same lack of impartiality on the news issues of the day?”)
CBS can run whatever they want to? Yes, but… this is not a cable or satellite network they are running; it is a network that uses our public airwaves. If they are going to run advocacy ads, they need to serve all the public, not just some. I’m fine with CBS running no advocacy ads, but not with them deciding what is and is not acceptable for public discussion.
Buy some land near the billboard? You mean, just any old open lot for sale in Times Square? Problem is you just can’t go and buy land and slap up a billboard. Most cities and states have zoning regulations that limit the amount of billboard advertising and every possible billboard location is now already owned by CBS or Clear Channel (another corporate behemoth that would likely reject us.)
I guess all those alcohol and pharmaceutical companies they run ads for complained.
Correct me if I am wrong, but are there not HUGE lines of case law stating basically that, if a broadcaster or publisher accepts political advertisements from one side of the coin, they are constitutionally required to accept ads from the opposing viewpoint? It seems to me that if CBS has ever accepted a Freevibe or Above the Influence spot (which they have), then they ARE obligated under law and under the Constitution to allow NORML’s spot. Refusal implicates the Equal Protection clause and the First Amendment, especially when the network gives as flimsy an excuse as the ad is “too political”, considering the ads they DO allow.
Take it to court NORML. You might win… And mainstream exposure is the one thing that is going to go farther toward legalization than anything else.
[Editor’s note: Unfortunately, the Fairness Doctrine, FCC and FEC rules effectively promote equal time for politicians and political parties, not for non-profit organizations.]
The reason NORML was rejected and the abortion ad was approved is because CBS is owned and run by republican conservatives who only approve messages they agree with
GEE, HYPOCRISY IN CORPORATE MEDIA,WHO’D A THUNK IT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CBS_television_affiliates_%28by_U.S._state%29
Email/write to your local CBS affiliate and kindly explain to them why you will no longer be watching their channel.
i got some ads. ABORTION just do it.
or abortion its cool. Serious. there are so many people who cares if most of them get aborted. just let me smoke weed and shut up jesus!
True. I was thinking of putting the billboard in Atlanta right behind the abortion billboard, but you’re probably right regarding zoning and regulation. Maybe something will pop up 😉
Yeah, boycott CBS. NBC’s peacock feathers are much more appealing to morph into a beautiful green cannabis leaf. That’s a nice animated avatar for NBC, hopefully it’ll go viral on the web, and NBC will adopt it, at least on an SNL spoof of itself. See B.S. ahem, CBS.
Hey NORML. The best way to buck the system is to buy your own billboards and put up whatever you want. Basically telling all of the corporate jerkoffs to go fist themselves. You know the old saying, if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I will donate to a national billboard buying campaign if you set it up!
I know a lot of important people here in California. I will spread the word on boycotting CBS.
#21 No I see it myself, kinda like back when cannabis was illegalized saying only blacks,and Hispanics use it to have sex with the white woman to me this Fucking Gov Is Raciest
@Jeff Make that two people that will donate to a national billboard campaign. I see pro legalization being ignored left and right, even with a huge support of the people. I think it’s time to take things into our own hands, and leave the pencil pushers out of it.
CUTE?!?!?!
This is sickening.
What does the public not understand about marijuana???
The facts are there! This could save our economy!
Please wake the f**k up.
Well, if I were a black person I would be quite offended by that ad. They’re implying that blacks are so abortion-happy that they’re aborting themselves out of existince. Where do they come up with this crap?
I wonder why we haven’t heard any outrage from some civil rights folks. That is a racist ad no matter how you look at it.
please nothing is going to happen especially since so many americans in power actually want to curb our freedoms not expand them which is why cannabis legalization will never happen unless we advocated for legalization escalate this movement
when those in power harm and hurt so many of its citizens its time we pay back these organizations in kind
the govt is regulating and criminalizing things they have no right. they delve in to millions of lives in the fact that those in govt believe that gays shouldnt get married, this is the same with cannabis regulation, who are they to say what people do with their personal lives, and the choices they make especially when it holds no consequences to anyone.
the govt has no right to regulate the free will of the people
Black people are an endagered species? Who the fuck would even think of that, yet alone have someone approve it to be placed on an ad as black people drive by. CBS is a useless voice in this world we live in, take nothing they say to heart. You can botcott them if you want I don’t know anyone who likes anything on CBS anyway
If you’re really pissed e-mail the ceo of CBS every day untill they change thier ways. Hell send 30 messages a day, can’t ever be too right, right?
Remember when media companies reported the news without taking sides. Now they run this country by controlling what the main stream media can play on thier big screens, their tv channels, and all the way down to our local news papers. It’s ok to show stuff from the extreme right, but no liberal stuff here. That would be freedom of speech.
Way to protect your back CBS we all know the big money comes from the conservative side, forget that they stole it from the public while they were in office.
As usual no one here mentions Big 2WackGo, maybe because there are laws against advertising $igarettes on television. Please bear in mind that a hugh share of the corporate money that advertises on CBS etc. is linked to $igarettes.
One huge example: the famous and beloved Propa & Ganda Company.
1. There is a synergy between coffee and cigarettes. If cigarette addiction disappeared, you’re looking at Folger’s sales declines in the $billions.
2. There is a synergy between cigarettes and junk food. Megatons of Crisco-made pastries, chips etc. won’t sell without a craving for fat, sugar, salt caused by cigarettes.
3. After a cigarette and a foul mouth you can’t kiss that lady without first “washing your mouth out with Scope.”
4. Cigarettes cause lousy body odor so you’ll need Secret (cigarette) Deodorant.
5. Cigarettes leave an odor in clothes, so it’s “Tide In, Dirt Out” (or various other slightly different brands, all P&G).
6. To take care of cigarette-related diseases, P&G has been moving aggressively to acquire pharmaceutical companies to ca$h in big over the next decades.
7. For the filth and crud that accumulates in ash trays, on floors, baseboards, walls etc. there’s Spic n Span, Mr. Clean, Comet Cleanser etc.(and on and on).
In all these ways P&G profits off the tail end of tobackgo and doesn’t want something like cannabis legalization to screw things up by killing off the tobackgo genocide industry. Same for car companies, who want a cigarette-fagged-out public that would rather drive the car than a bicycle, and all the other tobackgo-dependent corporate profiteers which dominate on-air advertising.
I like the idea of norml putting up or buying space on billboards. I would gladly contribute to that. I am also involved with Vote Hemp. Hemp history month is coming up and I am suggesting that they also use billboards to tell the public the history of Hemp in America. Hemp/Cannabis has a long history in America and hopefully a long future. Abolish Hemp/Cannabis prohibition Now!
Unbelievable! As an Atlanta resident I find it extremely OFFENSIVE and frankly DISGUSTING that CBS would show a billboard referring to aborted black children as “an endangered species”. . .
I hope that CBS:
1. Had to pay dearly for cancelling their contract w/ NORML regarding the Times’ Square billboard; their hypocrisy is absolutely blinding!
and
2. I sincerely hope that the black population of Atlanta (and any within reading distance of this website) seize this opportunity to rain down negative publicity on CBS for allowing such a despicable billboard that singles out “Black Children” as an endangered species to be put up.
I feel a bit of Karma payback headed towards CBS very, VERY SOON!!
End Slavery!
LEGALIZE FREEDOM!!
I wonder if they would accept an ad with only some statistics about how prohibition disproportionally affects Black people. Right?
Honestly I just have this to say to NORML..”tough titty”. Why is it so hard to understand? CBS has a right to deny you (or anyone else) a spot on “their” billboards without explanation or reservation. Getting all butt-hurt and whiny about it isn’t going to change the fact that they own the billboards, and as such have the right to determine that which will be shown on them. Want to get back at them? BUY BILLBOARDS! Then you too can allow only those whose values reflect your own to purchase space on “your” billboards!
-Oz
[Editor’s note: Tough titty? Butt-hurt? Aren’t you classy….
No kidding that CBS owns their billboard, the obvious complaint is the disparity in treatment that CBS engenders when they take racist anti-abortion billboards, but will not take a pro-cannabis law reform ads.
NORML is not going to buy a billboard in Times Square and has no plans in the future to purchase billboards. The NRA, NAACP, PETA, Catholic Church, Anti-tobacco groups, Sierra Club, anti-abortion groups, Focus on the Family, Church of Latter Day Saints, etc…they don’t have to buy billboards to get out their at times controversial ads seen by the public. Why should NORML’s members have to buy billboards to promote a public policy reform that is already popular with the general population?]
Search Norml on CBS’s website (see below), and leave a comment on the issue to them directly:
http://www.cbs.com/community/manage/userProfileHome.html?u=amyctexas
@Seriously? – And that’s why I’m a libertarian. Nice ASSumption though.
I had the exact same thought as Megan, the billboard suggests that people of different colors are different species. That’s really fucked up.
In response to the editors response on #53. I agree that CBS is bias, has an obvious agenda, and we as individuals should boycott them. That does not change the fact that it is their billboard and they can advertise for whom they wish. Say NORML had some advertising on it’s website. Would you run ads for pro-drug war candidates? For pro-drug war legislation? For Ron Paul lol? No! That is your right, and all the power to you!
Those other organizations do not purchase billboards, sure. Is NORML those other organizations? Why stay a stagnant status-quo non-profit? Do you want to shake things up? Do you want to increase your impact?
Maybe buying a billboard doesn’t make sense on other levels, but you aren’t going to consider it because it isn’t fair? Why should I donate to NORML if it does not take these suggestions/ideas seriously? Why would I donate to you if you are not willing to think outside of the box like the other organizations you listed?
[Editor’s note: Why are you defending CBS? The point is not who owns the billboard. That is well established. The point is that CBS claims to not take political ads, then runs anti-abortion TV ads during the Superbowl and racist anti-abortion billboards in Georgia.
Get it?!
If you believe that ‘thinking out of the box’ is for a non-profit organization to go buy billboards when no other group in America has to waste its members’ donations doing such, so be it. Whatever….
However, there apparently is no market for cannabis law reformers to self-fund billboards or public transit ads…that failed experiment can be found at changetheclimate.org
If you think it worthwhile, go raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars, buy your own billboards and promote Ron Paul and cannabis law reform to your heart’s content. Or, go chide billionaire-supported DPA and MPP to go buy and service pro-reform billboards with their large annual endowments.]
I find it absurd.
also
If you had that same billboard with white children it would spark so much outrage and be called racist.
That’s if you could even get so far as to have the billboard.
CBS wouldn’t allow a white one.
That billboard that suggust black children are a different species is so disgustingly rascist! It is haunting me! What has America become? FFS!.
And @Kayla, I agree and understand if the anti-abortion people rarely gave a crap about life then why are most of them so against programs that help children whose familes can´t help them.
We won´t need billboards if we all talk to are families and friends about this issue!
This is an outrage! Stop story of Sinsemilla’s lifestyle page. sinsemillainc.com
This trend of cannabis sensitivity in the corporate world will fade as it become more socially acceptable, but right now we grind our teeth!
I didn’t see it mentioned in the comments, but this is just another example in a long history of CBS trying to inject the values of it’s executives into the lives of Americans.
During the Super Bowl, CBS showed the Tim Tebow anti-abortion ad. But, they refused to show an advertisement for a gay/lesbian online dating site.
The funny thing is that these decisions actually work to the detriment of CBS. If you watched the superbowl ads carefully, you may have noticed that about 25% of the advertisements were for shows on CBS. In other words, CBS failed to sell all of their ad space. So instead of selling a 40 second advertising spot for $2-$3 million (how much the ads cost), they simply refused the money instead of airing the ads. In other words they turned down millions of dollars because they didn’t like the message.
Now there are many people here saying that CBS can do whatever they want with their tv ad space and their billboards, however I disagree with this based on one fact… CBS IS A PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY! CBS is not a privately held company. It is owned by the stock holders.
If I owned CBS stock, I would have sold it the day after the Super Bowl. Here is a company that is refusing to make money just because they do not like the people that want to pay them. And when this attitude exists in a business that operates under capitalism, it is a recipe for certain disaster.
I didn’t see it mentioned in the comments, but this is just another example in a long history of CBS trying to inject the values of it’s executives into the lives of Americans.
During the Super Bowl, CBS showed the Tim Tebow anti-abortion ad. But, they refused to show an advertisement for a gay/lesbian online dating site.
The funny thing is that these decisions actually work to the detriment of CBS. If you watched the superbowl ads carefully, you may have noticed that about 25% of the advertisements were for shows on CBS. In other words, CBS failed to sell all of their ad space. So instead of selling a 40 second advertising spot for $2-$3 million (how much the ads cost), they simply refused the money instead of airing the ads. In other words they turned down millions of dollars because they didn’t like the message.
Now there are many people here saying that CBS can do whatever they want with their tv ad space and their billboards, however I disagree with this based on one fact… CBS IS A PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY! CBS is not a privately held company. It is owned by the stock holders.
If I owned CBS stock, I would have sold it the day after the Super Bowl. Here is a company that is refusing to make money just because they do not like the people that want to pay them. And when this attitude exists in a business that operates under capitalism, it is a recipe for certain disaster, and an example of discrimination.
What CBS is doing actually boarders on discrimination. To illustrate what I mean, consider the following hypothetical situation: I decide that I want to open a restaurant. I (the stock holder in this analogy), buy a space, furnish it, hire a crew, put together a menu, and open my business. On the 5th day the restaurant is open my head chef (CBS executive) comes to me and says that he does not want to cook meals for black people. He then shows me a survey he conducted with the customers over the first 4 days of business showing me that the restaurant would get more business if I only served white people…So by CBS’ logic I should only serve white people. But reality and morality tell me that to do so would be wrong and discriminatory.
I’m sorry but for one of the first, if not THE first commercial for the legalization of marijuana, it is pretty awful. All I got from it was “Pot makes money, legalize it!” I was not impressed.. If NORML expects THAT to hit the air, they should re-evaluate.
[Editor’s note: The ad was not created to be aired on TV, it was a 15-second electronic billboard buy in NYC’s Times Square….and it is not the first ad in favor of cannabis law reform intended for mass broadcast.
Last 4/20, NORML launched a nationwide TV ad buy…]
this bill board sounds and looks racist and they allow this kind of bill board or any other bill board but they can’t allow a cannibis billboard?
The point that offends me is their allusion to morals, or the lack thereof, implying that people who smoke pot are lacking in morals. But that’s what people in general think. It’s okay to drink, but do “drugs” and it’s as if you’ve sold your soul to the devil.
Why is it that black women are expected to continue the cycle of poverty, abuse and abandonment by black men? Will we be bullied into having even more children with men who are misogynist, gay, bisexual, incarcerated, uneducated and irresponsible. (Black women continue to have a higher birth rate than white women.) Why are 70% of black households headed by single black women? Why isn’t anyone saying that the leading cause of death for sistas of child bearing age is hiv/aids? Will this increase? Why wasn’t more thought put into this entire approach regarding black womens’ lives and bodies? With everything else that is going on–I just don’t think this is a wise move right now….
Editor’s note: Why are you defending CBS? The point is not who owns the billboard. That is well established. The point is that CBS claims to not take political ads, then runs anti-abortion TV ads during the Superbowl and racist anti-abortion billboards in Georgia.
Chill out dude, I get it. You apparently don’t. I am absolutely not defending CBS. Did you not read in my previous post that the way to go about this is for individuals to boycott CBS. I am just reaffirming that they have not broken any laws, so there is no legal recourse. Your resources are best spent thinking outside the box and getting around roadblocks like this by considering progressive ideas.
A lot of the other commentators also asked why not buy billboards. Like I said before, maybe buying billboards is not a good use of resources, but it is an interesting idea. Why the attitude? This is what I don’t get about NORML national. You have a totally ‘you’re either with us or against us’ mentality. You can’t take constructive criticism at all, and god forbid we suggest you do anything differently. My college NORML chapter is so much more pleasant and open to these type of discussions; why are you dudes moderating these boards such sticks-in-the-mud?
[Editor’s note: Attitude…you mean yours?! You have such a hostile attitude towards NORML, why be involved? You post dozens of negative comments. Your contrarian, provocative and clearly immature posts (you’re in college, which helps explain a lot) don’t advance cannabis law reform at all.
Maybe you should live a little longer, read more and post less.]
OK for one who cares?? no one watches CBS anyway we should get it aired on the fox network maybe with a small statement by the CEO of NORML saying something like ” NORML supporting the education of america to make your own decision… learn more at NORML.com” something simple non-threating and pushing the education argument and simply getting people to ask why. As for the abortion issue i think its funny that people are making a fuss as though the black baby billboard since most women who get abortions are caucasian you dont see many white babies at the adoption agency most are pigmeys or asian… the point is they are two seperate issues and although i appreciate the hypocrasy and the blantent disrespect for the lack of support for our issues i reallly don’t think we should tie our argument to that train… the last thing we should be doing is assosciating a totally victimless action with something as contriversal as abortion.
[Editor’s note: Ummm…CBS has been the number #1 TV network for years…your thoughts on abortion are incorrect and bizarre…the issue of CBS claiming not to run political ads, when it runs racist anti-abortion billboards while denying cannabis law reform messages (which is political) is relevant to the thousands of cannabis law reform advocates who’ve signed the online petition against CBS’ hypocrisy.]
No kidding that CBS owns their billboard, the obvious complaint is the disparity in treatment that CBS engenders when they take racist anti-abortion billboards, but will not take a pro-cannabis law reform ads.
NORML is not going to buy a billboard in Times Square and has no plans in the future to purchase billboards. The NRA, NAACP, PETA, Catholic Church, Anti-tobacco groups, Sierra Club, anti-abortion groups, Focus on the Family, Church of Latter Day Saints, etc…they don’t have to buy billboards to get out their at times controversial ads seen by the public. Why should NORML’s members have to buy billboards to promote a public policy reform that is already popular with the general population?]
You want to know why you need to buy billboards? Because out of all of the causes you mentioned, none of them is currently ILLEGAL1
[Editor’s note: An organization petitioning the government against grievances is not illegal and it is not an illegal act. It was not as if NORML was advertising to sell cannabis…only reflecting the fact that a majority of Americans support ending 73-years of cannabis prohibition and support raising–as compared to spending–tax revenue.]
oh and one more thing.. tim tebow is a tool
No kidding that CBS owns their billboard, the obvious complaint is the disparity in treatment that CBS engenders when they take racist anti-abortion billboards, but will not take a pro-cannabis law reform ads.
NORML is not going to buy a billboard in Times Square and has no plans in the future to purchase billboards. The NRA, NAACP, PETA, Catholic Church, Anti-tobacco groups, Sierra Club, anti-abortion groups, Focus on the Family, Church of Latter Day Saints, etc…they don’t have to buy billboards to get out their at times controversial ads seen by the public. Why should NORML’s members have to buy billboards to promote a public policy reform that is already popular with the general population?]
You want to know why you need to buy billboards? Because out of all of the causes you mentioned, none of them is currently ILLEGAL! As long as marijuana is illegal, groups like NORML will be viewed by some portion of the public (usually those who need to see a few “reality-based” pro-marijuana billboard ads, and those who make their money off the status quo) as being promoters of illegal activities.
Also, if you intend to win this fight, you must be willing to expose yourself to strangers. Here on these message boards, on this web-site, we are 99.999% in agreement about what should be done, but the other 56% of Americans not visiting this or other pro-marijuana web-sites do not know what you are trying to do. Without encroachment into media outlets that intrude into non-traditional markets, you’ll continue to be stuck singing this same tune to the same audience.
-Oz
[Editor’s note: Without encroachment into media outlets that intrude into non-traditional markets, you’ll continue to be stuck singing this same tune to the same audience.
Isn’t this the very problem at bar….major media outlets rarely take pro-reform messages? Organizations like NORML already work and advertise in non-traditional markets, the point of the billboard ad in NYC’s Time Square was to further mainstream the discussion of law reform.]
I can understand how CBS doesnt want to be tied to the marijuana movement at this time. However, I predict that once public support for legal cannabis becomes so strong that CBS can’t ignore it any longer, they will be very open to the idea of a pro-pot billboard.
Mark my words Paul Aramento! CBS will warm up to norml in a year or two.
sorry, but i like Criminal Minds and Cold Case too much to do a total boycott of CBS
Very interesting. Everything in America today is about an image, not a truth. If it was, marijuana would have never been illegal. There was never evidence to back up the kinds of claims about marijuana that have been made by presidential administrations of the past. Maybe CBS fears that they will lose viewers or something… who knows.
The concept of marijuana as a harmful, dangerous substance is a lie, and it is time that people stop living in denial and treating their loved ones like criminals… all because of the lies of evil, selfish men who would have their preferred issues advertised, while preventing causes that they don’t support from being decided on by the people. If they keep it on the hush… even with overwhelming evidence, marijuana will never be legalized.
Some surveys say that 90% have tried marijuana before… yet nobody has ever died from it, or gone on some schitzophrenic killing spree as a result of smoking pot. But somehow, the issue is offensive.
If somebody else smoking a joint offends you, well, guess what… it’s not you’re right to care, and I will say that point blank to the face of anyone who thinks otherwise, no matter what position of authority they hold. Opposers think through speculation… Supporters know through experience and/or from reading everything about marijuana. The people who fight or speak so passionately against marijuana are nothing but brainwashed drones with nothing but TV commercials to reference as evidence of their viewpoint. If they had hard facts to put in those commercials, they would be there. Quit letting them dictate what is important to us, America. (LOL, I feel like Stephen Colbert a little there.) Stand for what you really believe in, not the latest hot topic on your favorite TV news channel. Rely on personal research, not a combination of television commercials, polished political statements, and biased TV news… if you truly stand for something.
If they obviously lie about something so petty, and continue to stick with the lie, as they continue to get proven wrong, what else do they lie about? My suspicion would be everything. Turn off your TV’s and actually live the issues you so passionately care about, or shut your mouths. In other words… If marijuana is dangerous and wrong….. PROVE IT, WITHOUT A DOUBT, or shut your mouths. Don’t laugh at the issue when a concerned citizen asks about its progress… ahem, Mr. Obama. We are the people, we deserve that much. Otherwise, make it legal and quit lying.
I know I would be able to trust the government on more important issues… on issues like the war and the economy… if they didn’t obviously lie so much about less pressing issues like this one.
#71 said it well. The routes to the mainstream media that the majority of us see regularly are blocked, somehow, for the likes of pro-marijuana campaigns. There is absolutely no way that the government does not have a part in this… it would not be possible to keep advertising for marijuana out of the mainstream media for this long without their influence… in a nation with such growing support for the drug, or medicine, or whatever you would like it to be called. And of course, the marijuana issue will never reach those who have no personal interest in it, for law reform purposes, without that means of communication.
We are what our TV’s tell us we are, as a whole. Sorry to offend those who disagree, but television controls the political agendas of the citizens of this nation… 100%. We end up caring the most about the issues that we hear on TV, rarely on those that reflect our personal lives. Something about that is very wrong to me. In a nation of 300+ million people, it is sad that so few press their personal issues to their representatives. But no, I guess those lazy types would rather vote for the next American Idol. He who controls the content of the mainstream media guides the opinions of this nation. All it takes is a firm push in the direction they want us to go in.
I haven’t watched CBS in 10 years… so boycotting them would be hard to do. I don’t even know anyone (aside from my dottering parents) that even watch television.
F*ck CBS.
F*ck TV.
Hey guys at norml this is bullshit how can they reject you like this? How often can you request the ad? Please continue asking them as this would be a huge thing if you guys get this add up in running!
“(you’re in college, which helps explain a lot)”
How could you say this when you know that a large portion of your supporters are college students?
I always start off posting very positive and proactive posts on what I think can be done to help. If I mention liberty politics or any alternative ideas you post a negative editors comment on my post. My “negative” posts are all in response to your negative editor comments. So either stop putting editor comments on my positive posts, or just moderate out my posts. All I am doing is responding to your negative editor comments.
[Editor’s note: Your assumption (and projection), based on your limited life experience as a young person in college, that a large portion of NORML’s support is derived from college students is incorrect.
You’re a political partisan trying to encourage others to support your chosen political philosophy of ‘libertarianism’, and to support essentially ‘loser’ political candidates who support some or all of cannabis law reforms.
You’ve posted dozens to hundreds of times to NORML’s webpage promoting your views (you chose to post four times today to a single NORML reply….), and get upset when your incorrect or unhelpful advocacy is addressed by NORML’s editors.
Boo-hoo.]
Stand outside an abortion clinic just one day and watch how many teenage, poor black girls get dropped off by their 20 something, 30 something year old boyfriends. Most of the girls are black…only a few are white. That’s fact where I live…which isn’t far from Atlanta. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, it’s disturbing to see so many black women choosing abortion. Poverty shouldn’t be fought with an invasive medical procedure. I think there is a genuine willingness in pro-life circles to change the hearts of people and to consider abortion alternatives. I personally see nothing wrong with that and I see nothing wrong with running ads promoting that message…just like Planned Parenthood sees nothing wrong with getting their message out as well.
I also think that the issue of marijuana law reform has historically been viewed as a “liberal” issue so maybe some of the folks here might not have a problem taking a few shots at “pro-lifers”. Needless to say I’m pro-life, conservative and also in favor of marijuana law reform. I know a lot of others like me who feel the same way. This is the 2nd time I’ve visited this site and to be honest with you I thought the blog post started out great until I read your obvious pro-choice slant and your first comment: “It’s so cute how the pro-lifers are pretending to care about black children”.
So my question is…why alienate people like me and others who want to hear your thoughts on marijuana law reform but don’t really want to hear you and the others on here attack other causes that are important to us? Surely there has to be a way to make a point while being respectful of the beliefs and viewpoints of others right? Maybe this pro-marijuana reform movement needs to change their image…and be a little more inclusive while they’re at it.
[Editor’s note: Your highly subjective views about the race of who you perceive to get abortions is not welcomed and is largely off topic. Cannabis law reformers have the same percentage of pro-choice and pro-life supporters as any other subgroup in America not organized around the divisive and emotional issue of reproduction rights.]
Wow! I was expecting a much more constructive response from the “editor”. I agree with you that the abortion debate and marijuana law reform don’t mix. Maybe you should have thought about that when you decided to inject your pro-choice slant.
BTW…I’m not very PC…I’m honest so dont make me vomit with your “stating negative facts about abortion as it relates to race isnt welcome here” comments. Spare me the BS political correctness please…no one likes that except for extreme liberals.
[Editor’s note: If you agree that your anti-abortion views and cannabis law reform don’t mix why did YOU choose to publish the inflammatory info to NORML’s webpage?
NORML is indeed pro-choice for individual choice-making regarding health matters…aren’t you? However, if you want or need the government to make your health and reproductive decisions for you, who is the liberal?
Re your bizarre and unsubstantiated claims that minorities disproportionately employee abortions more than whites is self-evidently racist (and far off topic). As such, your subjective views about who gets abortions and why is not welcomed on a pro-cannabis law reform webpage. You can call it PC if you like, others will see it as a call for civility and to stay focused on point.]
Change.org has sent out a mass email stating that CBS has reversed its decision and will run the ad. Why hasn’t NORML publicly addressed this new development?
[Paul Armentano responds: FYI: This development was discussed and linked to on the NORML Audio Stash page Wednesday and Thursday. NORML needs to thoroughly review CBS’s revised contract (and is presently doing so), before making a final decision.]
black children endangered? what?? really? racist, sexist, and stupid all at once! god this country needs weed more than ever, so we can get high and forget we live with all these nutcases.
And can I just ask one thing? Why is it, that whenever I see “anti-abortion crusaders” or whatever those freaks running around with huge signs of dead fetuses….they’re men. It’s men protesting abortion rights. WHY IS THAT!? You rarely ever see women doing it….
And NORML….I’m strongly inclined to print off your ads and just start hanging them on every public bulletin board I see. It’s time for this nonsense to end….when we can’t say “legalize weed!” but we can shove dead baby pictures down your throat, it’s a strong sign this country is going in the wrong direction. We need marijuana legalization now more than ever!