cannabisnews.com: Pro-Pot Ads Near 2 Schools In S.F. Removed





Pro-Pot Ads Near 2 Schools In S.F. Removed
Posted by FoM on August 27, 1999 at 08:23:21 PT
Placement was `innocent mistake,' company says 
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
Apologizing for ``an innocent mistake,'' an outdoor advertising company removed pro-marijuana signs yesterday from two Muni bus shelters near San Francisco elementary schools. 
The proximity of the 6-foot tall ads to two schools unsettled Supervisor Tom Ammiano and others, who complained to Outdoor Systems after reading a report in The Chronicle. By 8 a.m. yesterday, the ads were taken down. ``The two ads near schools got by us, and for that I apologize,'' said Lew Lillian, manager of Outdoor System's San Francisco office. The ads featured a marijuana leaf and the words, ``Honk If You Inhale,'' and were paid for by NORML, an organization promoting legalized use of marijuana. One ad was at 22nd Avenue and Clement Street, a short distance from Alamo Elementary School, which is between Clement and California streets and between 22nd and 23rd avenues. The other ad was on 12th Avenue and California Street, just down the block from Sutro Elementary School, located at 235 12th Ave. NORML has 28 similar ads at other Muni bus shelters. Outdoor Systems rechecked those ads yesterday and found they are not near any schools. State law prohibits companies from advertising tobacco on billboards that are within 1,000 feet of a school or playground. NORML's two Richmond District bus-stop ads were within 200 feet of Alamo and Sutro. Although there apparently is no law regarding marijuana advertising, there was outrage over NORML's ads. ``I'm glad this happened, so that the next time someone wants to put an ad near a school, they will consider the children's needs,'' said Annette Lim, Sutro's principal. Ammiano said the marijuana ads may be appropriate in other areas, but not near schools. ``I think a valuable lesson was learned,'' he said. ``I do support the decriminalization of marijuana. Even so, it was a totally inappropriate placement.'' NORML did not tell Outdoor Systems where to put its bus-shelter ads, which have been running for more than a month. Still, the head of NORML's San Francisco office on Wednesday defended the ads' placement near Alamo and Sutro schools, saying, ``We're not telling kids to smoke pot. It's very definitely aimed at adults.'' Yesterday, Dale Gieringer backtracked, saying, ``If the principal people who use the bus station are elementary school kids, it probably doesn't make much sense to have a political ad there.'' ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle  Page A20Pro-Pot Billboards Near S.F. School - 8/26/99 http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2625.shtml
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