Michigan Pot Information Campaign Draws Complaints

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Service is sponsoring a new series of ads about marijuana use across the state. Supporters of the states exploding marijuana industry are livid.  They’re demanding the ad campaign to be pulled. They say it amounts to a ‘reefer madness” approach. That’s in reference to a movie from the mid-30’s that tried to emphasize the dangers of marijuana use, and ended up with a cult following. "Are you high?" one character asks another in one of the ads,  entitled “Future Self”.  "I'm you in 10 years. No career. No friends. No money. Marijuana messed with our brain. We can't focus."

Marijuana supporters say the campaign is waste of money on a government propaganda campaign. Recreational sales of marijuana began in Michigan on Dec. 1. From then until last Sunday, there has been $10 million in legal recreational marijuana sales in Michigan. The ads ask viewers to visit a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services website about drug use. That page links to the website for the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens. The institute says marijuana use can affect decision-making, concentration and memory.

The ads are scheduled to run on a variety of media platforms through mid-April.