Legal Marijuana Industry Seeks to Shake Negative Stereotypes
America ı By Cedric Dent
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Using marijuana is legal in some form in 30 states. Now, many companies and individuals are trying to show that pot isn’t for “stoners” only.
Frustrated with Stereotypes
Michelle Janikian, a journalist who focuses on marijuana, says that she constantly has to act “friendly and mainstream” so that people don’t form a low opinion of her. Likewise, Adam Salcido says that he had to reassure his family that he wasn’t going to become an addict when he went to work for a public relations firm that focuses on weed.
Reversing Public Opinion
MedMen is leading the “anti-stoner offensive” with a $2 million ad campaign. The company runs a chain of stores that they’ve called the “Apple of pot shops.” Now, they’re trying to show that smoking pot isn’t just for people who live in their parents’ basements, play video games all day and only emerge when they get the munchies.
The company has stores from LA to New York. In each location and on the web, it's running ads that show photographs of 17 people. These people include a white-haired grandmother, a business executive, a schoolteacher, a nurse and a former NFL player. Beside each picture is the word “stoner” crossed out and a prominent description of who they are.
On www.forgetstoner.com, people can read about why these featured people use weed. Some say it’s for medical reasons, others for mental health and others for the high. The company wants to communicate that all of these uses are legitimate for their legal product.
Daniel Yi, the senior vice president of communications for MedMen, says, “What we’re saying is the very definition of a stereotype is defining a person by one bad mention. They’re also a grandmother. They’re also a father, a son, a brother.”
Jud Weiss, the founder and CEO of Lit.Club, markets his company’s products as fine luxury items. He says people should view his product as they would a fine bourbon.
“Very much like the Tesla, we want to be seen as luxury quality, but affordable,” Weiss said.
Opposition to Mainstreaming Marijuana
Not everyone is happy about the legalization of marijuana, however. And some see danger in legitimizing its use.
Kevin Sabet, the president of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, was a drug policy adviser to Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
“It is not a controversial claim to say that marijuana could be addictive for some people, that it could produce mental illness, that it’s tied to impaired driving, that it makes you not motivated, that you’re more likely to drop out of school if you’re a kid using,” Sabet said.
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