cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Billboard Snuffed 





Marijuana Billboard Snuffed 
Posted by CN Staff on September 11, 2003 at 08:21:15 PT
By Betsy Calvert, Staff Writer 
Source: Republican
Greenfield -- A legalize-marijuana billboard sponsored by a Greenfield-based advocacy group lasted less than a day on Route 9 in Westborough. It was pasted over with the billboard it had replaced - a composite sketch of an at-large serial rapist. The short-lived billboard, paid for by Change the Climate Inc. of Greenfield, showed photographs of three people - a teacher, a firefighter and a state trooper whose photograph was taken without authorization from a recruitment brochure, the state police said yesterday.
The message of the billboard was that legalizing and taxing marijuana would bring back public services and plug the budget gap. Westborough police were not thrilled to have the public service announcement of the composite sketch replaced by a paid advertisement promoting marijuana, said Police Chief Alan R. Gordon. He believes that the composite sketch, posted for three weeks, has prevented further attacks by a man police believe raped four area women in their homes between Aug. 6 and Aug 16. Gordon has since learned that he will get another month of free advertising of the composite sketch about a half-mile away on Route 9 in the opposite direction, which suits his needs well. Nonetheless, he contacted the state police when he saw that the marijuana billboard depicted a trooper. Within hours, state police headquarters in Framingham demanded the removal of the billboard for lack of authorization and for violation of departmental policy, said state police Capt. Donald Johnson yesterday. The billboard company, Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. of Stoneham, pasted the composite sketch back over the marijuana message yesterday morning. The company issued a written statement emphasizing its commitment to arresting the rapist. Johnson said, however, that company staffers told him the state trooper photograph was their mistake. They had considered using an actor in a police uniform, but somehow, the trooper's photograph was printed instead. Change the Climate executive director and founder Joseph White of Greenfield said that its advertisement will be reformulated and posted at the Route 9 site in a few days' time. Source: Republican, The (MA)Author: Betsy Calvert, Staff Writer Published: September 11, 2003Copyright: 2003 The RepublicanContact: letters repub.comWebsite: http://www.masslive.com/republican/Related Articles & Web Site:Change The Climatehttp://www.changetheclimate.orgMetro Ad Campaign Features Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17255.shtmlBillboard Campaign Urges Support for Pot Guruhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15666.shtmlChange The Climate Begins Advertising in Calif.http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15650.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on September 11, 2003 at 09:11:29 PT
How much more?
The sun revolves around the earth, and that's the truth, so there. If you disagree, then the US gov will burn you at the stake just like Giordano Bruno was in 1600. Well, maybe not burn you at the stake, these days, they'll just shoot you. The word 'progress' could just as well be removed from the dictionary.I'll keep on smoking a little bit now and then. I don't care what the drug czar says or does.  
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