Early advertising comes as part of an awareness program from
Leafly, a site and community which promotes the responsible use of medical marijuana. Promoters with the company purchased a full-page ad for their "
just say know" campaign which asserts that people should do more to understand how marijuana works. Authors assert that the medicinal applications are extremely important to consider.
For fans of the New York Times this turn is not terribly surprising, seeing as calls for the repeal of marijuana prohibition
are all over the site. Writers have made their stance on the issue clear for
many years now. As such this advertising fits perfectly with their platform.
Medical marijuana has seen increased acceptance in recent months, due in no small part to efforts from sites such as Leafly and
NORML. Earlier in the year the house also voted to stop raids which may involve
medical marijuana.
Along with legalization in some areas comes yet another backlash against the drug. According to a report in
Live Science two deaths in Colorado happened due to marijuana. Several studies have shown that cannabis could cause something few had thought about before:
heart problems.
Of course that has little to do with medical marijuana but is part of the evidence being used to stand against
marijuana in any form.
Whatever the direction this debate goes in it seems likely that the New York Times will continue with ads of this nature. Other publications such as
High Times have proved that the American public has an appetite for this. Once again money becomes the deciding issue here as publishing fees are a part of the overall
economic picture for weed.