This 15 second animation supporting the legalization of cannabis is currently being displayed eighteen times a day on the biggest billboard in New York City’s Times Square
This 15 second animation supporting the legalization of cannabis is currently being displayed eighteen times a day on the biggest billboard in New York City’s Times Square
Hehe I say that too my customers all the time. Money doesn’t grow on trees, yet. 🙂 (legally)
Nice 🙂 Anyone got pictures of it ?
They should play it about 100000000 times a day for the remaining duration of this planet. We need that stuff legal or heavily decriminalized.
I’m kinda confused here…
First off, I am all for Cannabis legalization as I adore the plant.
What I am confused about is how the irony behind the title. It says “America, want lower taxes?”; yet I don’t see how taxes would be lower; in fact in one respect they’d be higher, since we don’t currently pay for taxes on Cannabis usage now (due to the black market). The advertisement even says “Billions in taxes”, so where exactly are those taxes coming from? The same people who pay the other taxes we’re supposedly talking about lowering.
I just don’t really get how on the one hand we can state we will generate all this money from TAX and then on the other hand say “lower taxes”.
Is that just me?
I mean, I totally get the idea and intention here, and I do believe that the end would justify the mean in legalization, and I also believe that some taxes would be reduced, but since the whole concept of how legalization is being pitched these days (taxing it)- there’s quite a bit of irony involved, since the tax payer is going to pay money at some point whether for the law enforcement for fighting the stoners or to the governmeny for growing or buying the stuff…
[Editor’s note: When retail sales taxes are in the black, city and state governments tend to reduce or keep at abeyance personal income taxes.]
Love it! Wish you could run this for us down here in Virginia!
Thanks for all you do!
Wait, I thought this ad was rejected by CBS? How did you get it approved?
I may have to head down to Times Square to check it out. Only 18 times a day though? That’s less than once an hour. The cost of the spot must have been very high.
on the one hand this is wonderful news
otoh
the ad needs to be more cutting edgy
i grew up in noo yawk, and for times square beep honk post-neon intensity of the density, i know wot im tawkin aboud.
vape for world peace
MORE NEWS OUT of CALIFORNIA ( not the U.S.A. )
California — Dunsmuir’s mayor and a medicinal marijuana collective owner want to plant a marijuana garden smack-dab in the middle of the city’s historical business district. “We’re trying to bring the growing of medical cannabis out of the darkness of an underground market and into the legal light,” said Mayor Peter Arth.
Arth, himself a medical marijuana patient, wants to lease three commercial lots he owns at Dunsmuir Avenue and Cedar Street to Green-Collar Compassionate Collective owner Leslie Wilde. The property is across the street from the Siskiyou County sheriff’s substation.
The Dunsmuir City Council will hear public comment on their proposal Thursday.
Arth said three professionally-engineered greenhouses would provide a place to grow high-quality medical marijuana for members of the collective.
Arth said it’s hard to know where the medicine is grown and how safe it is. It could be grown in Mexico, a national forest, or it could be contaminated with pesticides and other chemicals, he said. There is also a criminal element to the marijuana business that sometimes overlaps with the medical marijuana sector, he said.
But fellow council member Mario Rubino has raised objections he said were brought to him by community members, he said.
Rubino sent a memo to the council as part of the agenda packet outlining the concerns.
Since the city contracts with the Siskiyou County sheriff for only 20 hours of protection per day and has no police force of its own, security concerns are paramount, he said.
“It’d be like putting $50,000 in an empty lot with a wooden fence around it,” Rubino said of the project. “That’s going to draw a lot of attention.”
Though the sheriff’s substation is across the street, the expectation that the deputies patrol and secure a medical marijuana grow operation is unrealistic, he said.
“Not having a full-time sheriff, it is unreasonable to recommend such a high-risk potential business, or that the town could provide it a reasonably secure site,” Rubino wrote in the memo.
Arth and Wilde must apply for a historical site alteration permit for the facility by April 23 to get their proposal onto the planning commission’s May 5 agenda, Acting City Manager Alan Harvey said.
“In terms of the proposal, the kind of criteria the planning commission will be applying are: Is this a suitable use? Is this a suitable kind of structure? Does it fit within the context of the historic district? Is it going to significantly modify the features of the historic district?” Harvey said.
Arth said right now the lot is empty aside from some trees.
“So why not move in the direction that we have tried to move in as a city in terms of economic prosperity, toward sustainable agriculture, toward renewable sources of energy, to finding ways to create jobs and more economic stability for our area?” he asked
I AGREE
Great start — maybe emphasize the schedule-1 categorization, having “NO recognized medical benefits” in conflict with the 14+ states who recognize the existence of medical benefits.
Congress can’t ignore the proof forever. Hammer it home
Wow! Strike a victory for capitalism not to mention freedom!
USA!!!! Soon we will have to add green to our national colors ^_^
YES.
I think an alternate ad displaying the annual deaths of tobacco and alcohol (hundreds of thousands), compared to that of marijuana (0 in recorded history), would also do a good job in shifting perception. There are many reasons beyond gains in tax revenue that should be on the billboard in times square. Even though marijuana is illegal, there is still enormous demand that is inevitably met by black market enterprise. The public should know that this is so because the government chooses to wage war on its citizens instead of trusting them to make decisions.
yeah, this is what I have been saying. Obama, you want to keep raising taxes in a very hostile economy. There are millions of people that are ready to raise arms against the government for taxation without representation. Why will you not collect on the taxes that people are willing to THROW at you. Legalize it Obama…quit being sooo white
Marijuana prohibition has been a total failure and is perhaps this country’s greatest mistake. Not only has it created criminals out of nearly a third of the country’s populace, it costs our society billions of dollars every year, creates a strain on our prison system, and has little or no effect on marijuana use in the US. In some cases, prosecuting marijuana use has turned non-violent, middle class kids into violent and unpredictable, career criminals. Once a person has a criminal conviction on their record, they are far less likely to find a good job and become a useful member of society. Other countries with more liberal drug laws have much lower rates of drug addiction among their people. I invite you to my web-pages devoted to raising awareness on the assault on our civil liberties: http://freethegods.blogspot.com/2009/05/should-marijuana-be-legalized-ethan.html
free the weed!!!!!!!!!!
@ Lev
if Marijuana was legalized, it would give the gov’t more breathing room.
it is like the situation in california. If we had the money from Cannabis then a lot of teachers would still have there jobs and we wouldn’t have to make steep cuts in the budget. same with the federal gov’t. if the money is coming from cannabis more proportionately to what they are spending, it could do a great deal to help with the burden of paying for gov’t spending. You know i keep hearing oh yea Marijuana 10 to 15 billion in taxs within california….come on.
doesn’t anyone remember alcohol in the 20’s. there would be a ridiculous amount of people curious to try it and so forth. overall use may go down in the short term, but sonner or later the number will grow to a number that can be compared to alcohol. and why shouldn’t it? it is the safest drug on planet earth. who doesn’t want to see what the fuss is all about?
# 10
agreed
since cannabis has med value the plant DOES NOT BELONG on the most dangerous substance list, by their own qualifying sched 1 definition.
so simple even our govt might be forced to say gee whiz sooner rather than later.
free marijuana throughout the americas now!
obama start giving the marijuana issue serious re-consideration or you will be out of there in one term. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!
is obama aware of how horribly the african american community is targeted in this brutal war on marijuana users? consider all the guns being shipped off to mexico, marijuana distribution profits cartels sometimes upwards of two-thirds of their income.
since they are talking dollars and sense, it blow$ having to pay the inflated black market price on cannabis. and not even knowing if you are getting an indica, sativa, or hybrid is kinda like pot-luck. some damn good pot luck at the moment.
In the end, the truth will overcome all the lies.
Legalize cannabis.
OBJECTIVE STATEMENT.
It is with conviction; from the soul, with deep rooted belief, sted-fast faith, and certainty, that it is the noble and determined objective of the Genesist Faith to organize and unite its adherents throughout the world. The inspiration and incentive of our indivisable mindset and relentless agenda is, and will for-ever-more be “THE CERTAINTY OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.”
Government cannot deny us our Faith, even if it disagrees with it. Government cannot deny us our Constitution, even if it denies us our rights.
If the purpose or effect of a law is to impede the observance of one or all religions or is to discriminate invidiously between religions, that law is “CONSTITUTIONALLY INVALID,” even though the burden may be characterized as being only undirect.
If [YOU] believe in God and his gift of Holy Sacrament to his creation, [DECLARE YOURSELF] and stand with us as one constantly. You’re not alone. We are [MONOTHEISTIC GENESISTS]. We are a worldwide faith based community.
hey, maybe someone should tell the government to legalize it….. maybe they never heard that prohibition doesnt work??? i wonder why they dont know this stuff ???
It really is awesome to see these adds being published, its simply the best way to reach people, especially in a place like times square where there are all different types of people from diverse backgrounds (as opposed to a tv add where there may only be sports fans watching a football game, or young people watching a comedy show, ect).
But I wish we could concentrate on educating about the absolute lack of danger associated with marijuana and why it is really illegal; many people who are uneducated or against marijuana will simply think, ‘what a great idea,why dont we make heroine and meth legal for tax money too, NOT’.
the people in ill agree
We need to keep the focus on the harm illegality does to everyone involved and how the laws corrupt our legal system.
Cops are trained to “make the case”, this often involves lying on the arrest report and is an affront to liberty. The asset forfeiture laws become more horrendous each year and there is rampant abuse. Thousands of people die at the borders, billions are wasted and countless lives are ruined.
I just keep waiting for change.
The “War on Drugs”; “War on Terror”; “War on Communism” and a host of other wars waged by the right wing are really nothing more than a War on People–an excuse to erode civil rights to the point of non-existence. I invite you to my website devoted to raising awareness on this puritan attack on freedom: http://pltcldscsn.blogspot.com/
how about the new vat tax value added tax ,obama is thinking about it will raise taxes on goods i heard about 10 per cent and it is hiddin in the price on the goods.another scam on the people!
i moved from maryland to missouri almost two years ago and although there are pot smokers in this part of the country it is not talked about as much . If its anywhere in the country that needs reform its the mid west ,busch has to much money in the government here and the punishment in missouri for cultivation of five grams or less is SEVEN years that is stupid help us out here.
To me it’s the transfer of U.S. wealth to other Countries that currently supply the black market marijuana trade, as well as the criminal element created by marijuana prohibition that has no problem selling marijuana to children that makes it imperative to legalize and regulate marijuana as we do alcohol. I have raised four children and all have told me it was easier to get marijuna than alcohol in school.
Come On Let’s Move The Fight To Virginia Make It Legal If We All Stand Up We Can End Prohibition Now Is The Time!!!! Happy 420 To All………….
In reference to ol tex comment #27
Hey Bud,
You hit the nail on the head! Pass the word on this one again and again…
You’re absolutely right when you speak about the lying, cheating government we have here. It’s most obvious that the government croonies and faggits want to keep “Queen Mary Jane” illegal and to continue to proliferate the lives of the American people. All the money is going to corrupt government constituents pockets for policemans retirement funds, etc. These government scoundrals are already and have already been for years, the one’s growing “the weed” in their private grow houses. Hell no, the government doesn’t want it legal because there would be a vast majority of the police organizations and the rest of the corrupted government bureaus all across the country who would miss out on getting this free easy money stockpiles into their retirement funds, and suitcases of easy cash. Those corrupted government scoundrels are getting filthy rich off of the American people.
Can’t these people see that the government is the root of the organized crime and most likely the organizers.
ONE MORE STRONG POINT to make us peace loving poeple of our land realize and to keep in mind is this:
When you buy your weed on the black market ave. of America, take notice that your weed isn’t discolored or is without the flavor or quality which you are seeking and paying for. The weed is being heavily taxed already because the quality has already been squeezed out of it through chemical processes (probably to make quality hashish)so the corrupted government scoundrels can sell the hashish in a different market area to reap mulitple rewards. If you return the dequalitized weed to your friendly dealer (who probably, more than likely has police protection) be aware that when you bring the weed back that you are also being watched and videotaped by hidden cameras, so the government can get your fingerprints and make the transaction look like you were the dealer, so they can prosecute you and rob you of everything you own, you know the rest, go figure!
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST,
Never forget that these corrupt government scoundrels are also probably, more than likely adulterating the weed with spraying it with heroin, meth or other chemicals so that when they stop you and give you this sobriety test that you will be recognized as a heroin, meth, etc. user/possessor (WHETHER YOU WERE AWARE OF IT OR NOT) and or you will become addicted and will keep coming back to them for more.
Bottom line here is: Lets help stamp out government scoundrelism and political corruption. “Legalize “MaryJane” 100% and adorn her Queen of our land for the good of the people. Our Queen Mary is for the people, of the people and by the people…NOT for the government, of the government and by the government. (IT’S TIME TO PUT A DENT INTO MODERN DAY SLAVERY)
Remember that our founding father Thomas Jefferson has given us the protection from these corrupted& scoundrelous government activities in the BILL OF RIGHTS that clearly states THAT WE THE PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO ABOLISH THE GOVERNMENT if so deemed necessary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which is becoming more apparent every day.
If anyone out there doesn’t like my comments on the subject matter, then your just one of the proliferators.
NOW, GO BLOG THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In response to #34:replace the word proliferate with victim, victimized, victimizers…unless you can think of a more appropriate word……..
anywhere the words scoundrel, scoundrels and scoundrelous is used will be considered in the appropriate context.
Yes it’s about time that we legalize and tax this natural
green herb to benefit US! It’s proven that marijuana
can be healing medicine and should be legal in the USA!
Legalizing cannabis will increase taxes….there is no tax now, so any additional taxes are by definition TAX INCREASES.
[Editor’s note: Economist point to the ‘prohibition tax’ to help explain how an ounce of dried vegetable matter can fetch $300-$600 an ounce, when most agricultural commodities (barley, wheat, corn, rice, hops, soy beans, etc…) cost $30-$500 for a metric ton. The cost of cannabis where it is quasi-legal and often taxed (ie, CA and CO) is dropping as prohibition abates. When cannabis is actually legal, the cost will be low despite hefty ‘vice’ taxes (like tobacco and alcohol products where a large percentage of the cost are taxes, but the products are still much cheaper than prohibition-priced cannabis–which is not only hyper-inflated in cost, but the cultivator, seller and user can still get busted.
It is legalization or bust for cannabis.]
I hereby designate that any and all taxes acquired from marijuana legalization should be deemed as to be used to mimimize taxes for the American people…NOT to help bailout big government, banks and corporations.
They all got their bailouts and now is the time for the American people who have been the victims here with this “marijuana prohibition” (we the people have been paying this heavy price for everything and already taxed to death) It’s our turn………
“WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND RELIEF” from a scoundrelous, greedy government and corporate corruption.
Since your big financial institutions and corporations are the ones who have been getting all this bailout money….why don’t we say “use the tax money derived from marijuana legalization to giveout to the American people where this tax money should go anyway!!!! Then the people could save their homes, avoid forclosures, pay down credit card debt and minimize burden to the American taxpayers. NOT government, businesses, corporations and financil institutions.
STOP THIS GOVERNMENT SCOUNDRELISM & CORRUPTION!!!!!
STOP THIS MODERN DAY SLAVERY!!!!!!!!!!!!
STOP EXPLOITING THE LIVES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!
HEY YOU, SAM, I’M TALKING TO YOU.
DON’T MAKE US HAVE TO DIS-OWN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LETS RAKE MARIJUANA PROHIBITION OFF THE TABLE NOW
AND GET IT OVER WITH..SAVE TIME AND MONEY!!!!
THE DEFICITS ARE GROWING AND OTHER PROBLEMS ARE MANIFESTING AS WE SPEAK!!!!!
DUE TO WASTED TIME, WASTED TAX PAYERS MONEY OVER THIS GOVERNMENT SPAWNED MONOPOLY WHICH HAS BEEN DEVISED BY NONE OTHER THAN THE ONES WHO HAVE DEEMED MARIJUANA TO BE A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AND BROUGHT FORTH THIS PLAGUE TO THE PEOPLE AND OUR NATION………..
END MARIJUANA PROHIBITION NOW!!
BEFORE YOUR GOVERNMENT GOES DOWN THE WHIRLPOOL WITH EVERYONE ELSE THAT THEY HAVE PUSHED DOWN INTO IT!!!
IF YOU AGREE WITH MY BLOGGING COMMENTS JUST LET ME KNOW THAT YOU HEAR ME BY SPREADING THE WORD!!!!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!
OBAMA..WHY DON’T WE JUST END MARIJUANA PROBITION ON “INDEPENDENCE DAY JULY 4, 2010”
THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE DAY FOR THE PEOPLE TO BE REASSURED OF OUR FREEDOMS AND INDEPENDENCE!!!!
OR SHOULD THE PEOPLE LOOK BACK INTO THAT WINDOW OF TIME WHEN OUR ANCESTORS WERE TENDING THE OARS OF VIKING SHIPS WITH A ROPE AROUND EACH ONES NECK AND THEIR HANDS CHAINED TO THE OARS. THE GOVERNMENT GOONS WALKING THE DECK WITH BULLWHIPS????
INTO TODAYS MODERN DAY SCENARIO, WE ARE STILL SLAVES, WITH ALL THESE TAXES, AND BURDENS OF GOVERNMENT SCOUNDRELISM, AND PROHOBITIONS. UTTER BARBARIANISM!!
WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND OUR FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANYONE ELSE HAVE A COMMENT?
Decriminalization is long overdue. I’m sick and tired of polls and stipulations, etc, etc,. One’s body is their own. People don’t get high and go into psychotic rages and fall over dead from heart attacks. The “gateway” theory needs to go. I know way too many people that quit using drugs like cocaine, heroin and meth by using marijuana; and the herb just so happened to treat their DT’s(withdrawal symptoms) in a lot of the cases. Let’s hope that ‘medicinal law’ is just a starting point for something more precious–freedom for all. President Obama, you were voted in by many of the very people you laugh off every time legalization is brought up—many of them believing in “change” and believing a new sitting president and his policies would reflect his promises.