Local pot advocates believe it is “ridiculous” that Facebook has blocked a marijuana legalization campaign from displaying the image of a pot leaf in ads on the social-networking site. Facebook has censored the Just Say Now campaign from using pot images in its advertising. The campaign aims to draw support for legalization efforts in several states, including a ballot initiative scheduled for 2012 in Colorado.

Facebook censored the ads on Aug. 16 without explanation. When later asked by reporters, Facebook said the pot leaf violated Facebook’s policy against advertising smoking products.

Pot advocates, however, say Facebook needs to get its priorities straight. They believe marijuana is a less dangerous substance than products such as alcohol and tobacco.

“Facebook prides itself on being ahead of the times, but when it comes to marijuana, they’re behind the times,” said local marijuana advocate Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). “They certainly would have no problems with images of alcohol. So, it’s unfortunate they’re unwilling to show an image of a safer substance.”

Tvert led two successful legalization campaigns in Denver, legalizing the simple possession of marijuana for adults in the city. He attempted a statewide initiative in 2006, but the initiative failed.

Colorado pot advocates are gearing up for a legalization ballot initiative in 2012. They expect to receive the support of the Just Say Now campaign.

Wayward Bill Chengelis, chairman of the U.S. Marijuana Party of Colorado, said it is reasonable to believe that following the 2012 elections, Colorado will have legalized marijuana, and it won’t be solely regulated to medicinal use.

“It’s not far fetched as it sounds,” said Chengelis. “In 2006 we voted to legalize adult use and lost at 43 percent. However, the demographics changed, are changing, and you could be part of the change.”

At last weekend’s Cannabis Festiva festival at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Chengelis proposed the Cannabis Habitation Colorado movement. He is asking all “cannabis lovers” to relocate to Colorado.

“We want to turn colorful Colorado into cannabis culture Colorado,” said Chengelis, who says he has received 50 commitments from out-of-state cannabis lovers.

“We can control one geographic area in America,” added Chengelis. “Cannabis Habitation Colorado. We will have legal pot in Colorado by the year 2012.”

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Press Release

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Libertarian Party protests Facebook censorship of its marijuana legalization ad

WASHINGTON - The Libertarian Party (LP) is protesting the decision by Facebook to refuse advertisements that advocate for the legalization of marijuana.

The LP had been running a highly successful Facebook ad to express its support of marijuana legalization, but Facebook banned the ad about a week after accepting it.

A sample of the banned LP ad appears below:

In a July 23 email to the LP, a Facebook rep wrote, "We do not allow ads for marijuana or political ads for the promotion of marijuana."

The LP asserts that its ad is not intended to promote marijuana itself, but rather to take a position on the high-profile political question of legalizing marijuana. The issue is particularly relevant now, as a major marijuana legalization measure (Proposition 19) will be on the ballot in California this November.

Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the LP, commented, "Whether or not the folks at Facebook like marijuana, we think they should end their ridiculous censorship of our ad, which expresses the Libertarian position on a political issue of interest to many people."

Benedict continued, "We recognize Facebook's right to control their content and censor whoever they want. But we're also exercising our First Amendment right to complain about their bad decision, and to alert other consumers to put pressure on them."

On July 15, Facebook notified the LP that it had accepted the ad. Then, on July 22, Facebook revoked its approval, stating that "The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate."

Recently, the LP learned that Facebook revoked approval of similar ads from other groups, including Just Say Now and the District of Columbia Patients' Cooperative, claiming that their ads violated Facebook's ban on images of "smoking products." The LP notes that Facebook's ad guidelines prohibit "advertisements promoting tobacco products," but that the Libertarian ad does not promote the product itself, and that it is not a tobacco product.

Kyle Hartz, the LP's Development & New Media Assistant, said, "Our ad is targeted to people who have indicated that they are interested in the issue of marijuana legalization. It's bizarre that Facebook won't allow us to advertise to the very people who support what we are advocating."

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

August 24, 2010

By Ryan Singel

Facebook may be run by a bunch of twenty-somethings, but that doesn’t mean they like pot, or at least, pro-pot ads.

After serving up 38 million ads since Aug. 7 from a group supporting the legalization of marijuana, Facebook told the group Aug. 16 that it could no longer use a pot leaf in its ad, since it might promote smoking.

“The image in question was no longer acceptable for use in Facebook ads,” wrote Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes in an e-mail to Wired.com. “The image of a marijuana leaf is classified with all smoking products and therefore is not acceptable under our policies.”

But the Just Say Now campaign contends that Facebook isn’t harshing on their mellow — it’s censoring them, especially given that marijuana legalization is on the ballot in the upcoming election in California. And it’s calling on its supporters — some 6,000 fans on its Facebook page — to swap out their profile picture for an image of a pot leaf with a banned box over it (right).

The ads were titled, “End the war on marijuana” and called on users to sign a petition asking President Barack Obama to support the right of states to legalize marijuana.

Facebook’s core audience supports drug legalization, according to polls, and a large number of young adults say they are more likely to vote if legalization is on the ballot, according to Jane Hamsher, co-founder of the Firedoglake blog, who’s helping run the campaign in concert with Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.

“We aren’t trying to sell people pot. This is a policy issue,” Hamsher told Wired.com, noting that more than 50 percent of inmates in the federal prison system were there on drug charges and that law-and-order types like former Reagan administration lawyer Bruce Fein support decriminalization. “The time is right for this, and Facebook shutting this down is a real blow when we are trying to open up a conversation.”

For its part, Facebook says it’s cool with the group advertising — just so long as they don’t use a marijuana leaf in their ads.

“We don’t allow any images of drugs, drug paraphernalia or tobacco in ad images on Facebook,” wrote Facebook spokeswoman Annie Ta. “Just Say Now can continue to advertise on Facebook using a different image.”

But Hamsher notes that Facebook allows alcohol images and argues the ban on the image cripples their campaign.

“The image is the campaign when you run those ads — that’s what you see,” Hamsher said. “It’s like telling them they can’t use the F in the square,” referring to Facebook’s own distinctive logo.

No one disputes that Facebook has the legal right to ban the ad, but Hamsher argues that it just doesn’t make sense.

“It seems like a decision made to appease somebody’s grandma,” Hamsher said.

Photo: A former Kentucky Fried Chicken turned medical marijuana dispensary. Credit: TheTruthAbout

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