AZ Marijuana Arizona Marijuana Info
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Arizona (CRMLA) has launched a new billboard in Phoenix promoting Prop 205 and slamming Prop 205’s opponents for their misleading and fear-mongering ad campaigns.
The billboard refers to the “No on 205” ads as “Reefer Madness 2.0,” noting that they were “paid for with profits from opioid sales.” The committee that produced the ads, Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy (ARDP), raised eyebrows last month when it accepted a $500,000 contribution from Insys Therapeutics, Inc., a Chandler-based pharmaceutical company that derives almost all of its revenue from fentanyl, which experts call “the most potent and dangerous opioid on the market.”
The billboard directs viewers to FactCheck205.com, a webpage where voters can find a fact-check ARDP’s false advertising campaigns.
Ryan Hurley, CRMLA attorney and supporter of Prop 205, said: “We have put up this billboard to highlight two truly problematic issues related to our opponents. The first is that they are feeding misleading information to the voters of Arizona, in a manner similar to Reefer Madness propaganda from last century; the second is that this anti-marijuana propaganda is being paid for with money donated by Insys Therapeutics, whose profits are derived almost entirely from the sale of fentanyl, one of the deadliest opioids on the market.”
Hurley concluded by saying: “We use the phrase ‘Reefer Madness 2.0’ for a reason. For many decades, opponents of marijuana spread lies and exaggerations about the harms of marijuana. Over the past decade, most Americans have come to understand the truth: marijuana is actually far less harmful than alcohol, a substance widely consumed and accepted in this country. So our opponents have changed course. Instead of trying to scare people about marijuana, they are now trying to scare people about legal marijuana. They can’t win with honesty, so they are distorting the truth.”
