cannabisnews.com: Trooper Made Poster Boy For Marijuana Billboard





Trooper Made Poster Boy For Marijuana Billboard
Posted by CN Staff on September 11, 2003 at 22:02:02 PT
By Kevin Keenan 
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette 
Westboro -- Maybe the pro-marijuana group from Greenfield was a little hazy on who supports its cause. The police officer, state Trooper John Suyemoto of the Russell barracks, does not support the legalization of marijuana and neither he nor the state police authorized the use of his picture, state police Capt. Donald S. Johnson said. A pro-marijuana billboard on Route 9 that made its debut this week featured pictures of a police officer, a firefighter and a teacher. 
Problem is, the police officer, state Trooper John Suyemoto of the Russell barracks, does not support the legalization of marijuana and neither he nor the state police authorized the use of his picture, state police Capt. Donald S. Johnson said. "He was upset when he found out," Capt. Johnson said. "He did not pose for that and had no knowledge that they were going to use his picture." Change the Climate, the pro-marijuana group, had rented the billboard, which previously displayed the public-service "Wanted" poster of a man who is believed to have raped or attacked four women. Clear Channel Outdoors Inc., which was not charging rent for the "Wanted" sign, had planned to move it to another billboard on Route 9. But yesterday, the marijuana message came down and the "Wanted" sign went back up. Westboro Police Chief Alan R. Gordon said Clear Channel Outdoors, which owns the billboard, recognized its mistake and immediately removed the pro-marijuana sign. "They had an unauthorized picture of a Massachusetts state trooper up there, but they removed it," Chief Gordon said. The "Wanted" sign features a police sketch artist's composite of the rapist. The man has not attacked in a month and police are still aggressively pursuing him. After the Change the Climate sign went up, a state police officer drove by it to check it out and noticed that the policeman was wearing a Massachusetts trooper's cap, Capt. Johnson said. State police recognized the picture of Trooper Suyemoto because it is the same one used for recruiting posters, Capt. Johnson said. Photos of models were used for the firefighter and the teacher. State police will not take any action against Change the Climate or Clear Channel, Capt. Johnson said. He said the company was apologetic and accommodating and offered to immediately replace the sign, which it did. Joe White of Change the Climate said the organization planned to rent several billboards across the state for a new campaign calling for the legalization and taxation of marijuana. The group says doing so would save more money for local services, such as police and schools. Mr. White said he was caught off guard when his first billboard generated a "firestorm." He said the concept was his, but Clear Channel designed the sign and chose the three photographs. He said the company made an error by inserting a picture of a real police officer. A new sign will use a model for a police officer, he said. "The Clear Channel art department made an innocent mistake," Mr. White said. Capt. Johnson said Clear Channel originally planned to use a stock photograph of a model dressed as a police officer, but it felt the model didn't have the right look because he was not wearing a cap or badge, so it inserted Trooper Suyemoto's picture instead. "It was just a misunderstanding and there is no reason to think otherwise," Capt. Johnson said. Change the Climate has initiated several marijuana legalization campaigns outside Massachusetts but never here, Mr. White said. The organization had sought to rent billboard space from Lamar Outdoor Advertising, but was rejected because of the content, Mr. White said. "It's pretty shocking to me, actually, that they rejected our signs," Mr. White said. Mr. White said Clear Channel was willing to do business and never questioned his group's message. Billboard rental costs $7,000 to $25,000 a month, Mr. White said. Clear Channel Outdoors, a subsidiary of the media goliath Clear Channel Worldwide, owns 1,225 radio and 39 television stations in the United States, including local stations WTAG AM 580, which features talk-show host Jordan Levy, and WSRS 96.1 FM. Clear Channel released a statement yesterday afternoon saying that it is "committed to assisting the Westboro Police Department in its efforts to make an arrest in this case." The company also said "business commitments" may force the company to relocate the Wanted poster to another location. The company owns another billboard in Westboro. Chief Gordon said moving the billboard to another location may help in the search for the rapist because it would be seen by more people. Note: Company Will Use Models in Future.Complete Title: Unsuspecting Trooper Made A Poster Boy For Pro-Marijuana BillboardSource: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) Author: Kevin Keenan Published: Thursday, September 11, 2003Copyright: 2003 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Contact: letters telegram.com Website: http://www.telegram.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites: MassCann http://www.masscann.orgChange The Climatehttp://www.changetheclimate.orgMarijuana Billboard Snuffed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17271.shtmlMetro Ad Campaign Features Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17255.shtmlBillboard Campaign Urges Support for Pot Guruhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15666.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment