A California judge just affirmed a ruling from last week stating marijuana companies in the state will no longer be able to advertise their products on billboards along interstate highways.
Given the overwhelming amount of research that finds that exposure to marijuana advertising greatly increases the likelihood of youth marijuana use, this should be considered a significant win for public health advocates, who have long fought to restrict advertising for addictive substances.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration released the following statement praising the move:
“This one means a lot to us. Weed billboards have no place on our highway where they can influence minors.
“There is now an impressive body of research showing us that exposure to marijuana advertising drives up youth use and acceptance of the drug. Given the many negative health outcomes that result from today’s high potency THC, we cannot afford to allow the marijuana industry to advertise their highly potent products.
“And this should only be seen as the beginning. We will keep fighting until the state restricts all marijuana industry advertising altogether. The science cannot continue to be ignored.”