California TV Stations "Just Say No" to Drug Policy Ad

A new advertisement produced by the Marijuana Policy Project was launched this week with the intention of catalyzing new debate about marijuana policy. But in a move the ACLU describes as "bad citizenship," several major television stations -- including NBC, ABC, and FOX affiliates in Los Angeles and San Francisco -- have refused to air it, citing management's "comfort" and "standards".

The 30-second spot features "marijuana consumer" Nadene Herndon of Fair Oaks accusing the Governor and Legislature of ignoring millions of Californians who "want to pay taxes" on their marijuana consumption.

The ad is currently airing on KPIX (CBS 5 Oakland), KOVR (CBS Sacramento), KXTV (ABC Sacramento), KRON (San Francisco), and -- via California cable operators -- on MSNBC, CNBC, and CNN.

However, San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO-TV rejected the ad, telling MPP that they "weren't comfortable" with its content. KNTV -- San Jose's NBC affiliate -- also balked, saying only that "standards rejected the spot." KABC in Los Angeles told MPP on the phone earlier today that the ad "promotes marijuana use" and thus wasn't suitable for KABC viewers. Los Angeles-based KTTV (FOX) and Tribune's KTLA also refused to air the ad.

Alison Holcomb, drug policy director of the Washington ACLU, said that while the refusals obviously don't "implicate the First Amendment from a legal standpoint," she believes the practice "undermines a core principle underlying the First Amendment: that the strength of a democracy flows from the exchange of ideas."

Marijuana decriminalization is getting fresh attention due to broad public support of Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's bill -- AB 390 -- which would decriminalize personal possession of marijuana for adults and essentially treat (and tax) it like alcohol. Support seems to be building at the federal level as well, with several prominent members of Congress recently signing on to cosponsor Congressman Barney Frank's decriminalization bill.

But major hurdles remain for decriminalization advocates, such as this week's locking-of-horns with the management teams of major broadcast stations. MPP's Bruce Mirken told me that the stations' actions were "almost certainly legal, but that doesn't make them right or fair ... they're shutting out one side of a debate that our own governor says [we] should have."

This is not the first time the MPP and its brethren have encountered media double standards; in 2003, Comcast refused to run ads for the MPP-funded New Hampshire group "Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana". Comcast refused to explain their reasoning while simultaneously pledging $50 million in advertising to the Partnership for a Drug Free America. At the time, the PDFA gushed in a news release that it was the "largest single upfront commitment of advertising from a major media company in [our] organization's history." This, while Comcast was refusing to accept paid advertising from those arguing the other side.

The ACLU's Holcomb said such conduct "weakens our democracy and is bad citizenship."

The stations' management teams did not respond to requests for comment.

Follow Anthony Citrano on Twitter: www.twitter.com/acitrano

Comments

[moldy]

I'm sure their "pharma" sponsors wouldn't be happy. Money talks; that's the main reason that some people want this "idea" to die. I think the box is open now and those massive bureaucratic institutions, lawmakers on the take, and dealers/cartels making millions off the drug war are really worried.
We need to take OUR Constitution back!

[bearhat]

I want California to survive. The reality is this: We don't have the money for the services we know we all want and need. So opportunity slaps us in the face here. Opportunity says "tax marijuana because millions sell and use it for medical or recreational purposes" opportunity says "Californian marijuana has a high pedigree globally and would make an excellent export" opportunity says "To free California from the hole it fell in, throw it a hemp rope."

[JohnFromCensornati]

...but just say yes to mindless, WarOnSomeDrugs propaganda ads.

[Anthony Citrano - Huffpost Blogger]

As many of you know, I am a passionate advocate for decriminalization. But as a libertarian, I believe that private enterprises have a fundamental right to curate their own content. I'm no fan of the "Fairness Doctrine" or things like it - and state engagement with editorial and advertising decisions makes me very, very uncomfortable.

But mainstream media companies continue to wield tremendous power by essentially determining the bounds of legitimate political discourse. So, just as a company has the right to curate its content - the market has the right to reject companies who engage in “bad citizenship.”

[seanparnell]

Very well said.

It's worth noting that the ability of the mainstream media is on the wane, as alternative means of communication and information dispersal rise up (the internet, for example).

Sean Parnell
President
Center for Competitive Politics
http://www.campaignfreedom.org