Tag Archives: Oregon

Marijuana advertising lies, so where’s the outrage?

Billboards across the country advertise marijuana with false health claims that would never be allowed for tobacco or alcohol.  Big, bold and high (no pun intended), these signs help to sell the drug — while being seen by thousands of children.

Seen in Massachusetts

Why can’t state regulators stop these assaults on the public that attempt to portray weed as the road to a long life and better health?

Our answer: the cannabis industry which has legions of lobbyists in state governments — routinely prevails against sensible legislation. Only the states of Vermont and Montana ban billboard advertising. Most states struggle to regulate marijuana because the industry overpowers legislators with incredible promises.

Portland, Oregon

This sampling of billboards from around the country proves that the cannabis industry gets away with “murder” in legalization states.  It also proves that the ganjapreneurs, or so-called cannabis “doctors,” make fraudulent claims.  

Las Vegas

Quack Medicine and Phony Doctors

No ethical doctor would claim that cannabis is the road to a long and healthy life.  It’s about as medical as 100-proof alcohol.  Heavy, long-term cannabis users, like smokers and heavy drinkers, shorten their lives.   Even when some choose cannabis for palliative care, the drug doesn’t do anything comparable to real medicine.  Many with cancer try cannabis and reject it. Washington state

The “medical” marijuana industry’s false advertising began when they adopted a green cross, a pharmaceutical sign used in Europe.  The gimmick continued by using the term “dispensary, ” which means a clinic, or a room where medicine is dispensed.  Marijuana is numbness, not medicine.   Chicago in 2021

The pot industry understands addiction marketing.   In Chicago, 2021, Cresco Labs ran billboards repeating the word, EVERYDAY several times.   Of course, a public outcry followed.  

Marketing sex

After public outcry, an advertisement for cannabis-infused drinks near O’Hare Airport was replaced with something less sexual.

More recently, drivers into Chicago and O’ Hare Airport were greeted with a large billboard exclaiming that cannabis-infused drinks are better than SEX.  Big bold letters and hot red on a white background were used to capture attention.

A public outcry followed, with complaints written in the Chicago newspapers.  We’re happy to see that the sign was recently replaced,  but it still advertises for cannabis-infused drinks.

In Washington state, signs of pretty young women lure people into a pot shop called “Green Lady Marijuana.”

What about the Freebies?  

In Colorado, one billboard announced Free Dabs.   

Even worse, an activist group in Washington, DC,  gave out free marijuana with COVID shots.  The program was called “Joints for Jabs.”   Washington, DC, bans pot shops but allows gifting.

Most despicable are the advertising campaigns trying to get parents, and particularly women, to use weed.   Based on the number of child abuse deaths caused by pot-using parents and the knowledge that pregnant women must not use cannabis, these promoters must be stopped.

We may hate the cannabis industry, but give them credit for being some of the biggest con artists of our era — better than Big Tobacco and the opioid industry.

Have any complaints ever worked? 

Yes, a Colorado store with a mural of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street was forced to take it down after Sesame Street sued.  

Cookie Monster with pot cookies in Colorado, 2015.  A lawsuit forced the mural to be removed.

In California, a father complained the pot shops weren’t following the promise of Prop 64 not to advertise on interstate highways. He sued and won.

Editor’s Note:  Many of these signs are no longer visible, but the article is meant to alert the public of cannabis industry tactics.

HHS Data, Monitoring the Future data show troubling trends

Youth drug use increases in legalized states

State-level data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the most authoritative study on drug use conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), found significant increases in youth marijuana use in several recently legalized marijuana states versus last year.  At the same time, mental illness indicators worsened across the country while alcohol, cocaine, and tobacco use dropped, especially among young people. Continue reading HHS Data, Monitoring the Future data show troubling trends

Zuckerberg still doesn’t understand addiction

Three years ago when Mark Zuckerberg traveled around the country, his biggest surprise was learning the extent of the addiction crisis.  He was genuinely concerned about the problem, realizing that he comes from a position of privilege, and that he didn’t face economic loss like so many other Americans. Perhaps his awakened awareness had something to do with why he and his wife donated $500,000 to pass Measure 100 in Oregon this year, the Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative

The choice of the donation reflects a naiveté similar to the naiveté he had in 2017.  It doesn’t appear that Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan consulted treatment and addiction specialists before donating the money.  People who work in recovery are concerned the measure would largely eliminate the court system’s ability to mandate treatment for people.  The couple’s intentions Continue reading Zuckerberg still doesn’t understand addiction

Marijuana Legalization and Heightened Violence in Portland

The city of Portland has been plagued with nightly violence, arson and attacks on police for three months. Last month Portland experienced the highest homicide rate in one month in the last 30 years.  In fact, in each month except March, the number of shootings exceeded the previous year’s rate for that month.

How does one explain extreme changes in the city over 5 years?   How much does the explosion of new marijuana stores fuel the current violence in Portland?  Oregon opened commercial “recreational” marijuana stores in July 2015, and now Portland boasts 304 licensed marijuana shops.

Obviously there’s much going on that does not concern Black Lives Matter in this city that is 6 % African American and 77 % white.  While COVID-19 frustrations and concern over the treatment of African Americans may have started the protests, a different force fuels nightly crimes.  Anti-police sentiment runs strong, but the current violence has nothing to do with the right to protest and free speech. 

Could the anti-police protests be associated with cannabis use among young adults in that city? Negative effects of marijuana include irrational fears (paranoia), impaired judgement, delusional thinking, and aggressive or violent behavior. Remember how San Francisco’s Summer of Love came to a very bad end back in 1967?  History often repeats itself.

Defunding the police

In June, Portland’s mayor announced the city would stop using its marijuana tax revenue to fund police. The cannabis industry association requested the defunding, objecting that $2 million in the city’s marijuana tax goes to the police.

The first unit to go was the gun violence reduction unit.  Portland’s fiscal year began July 1, so it’s easy to measure the outcome of disbanding the gun violence reduction unit. There were 99 shootings in July, resulting in 15 deaths. August looks to be much the same, now that people 8 people were shot in the last week

The mayor and city council decided to reduce the police budget specifically by defunding three specific units.  As schools begin, Portland’s high schools will no longer use the police department’s school resource officers.   Then in January, the police department will no longer patrol the transit system.  As city officials give into demands of the rioters, the more the rioters mock and take advantage of them.

Portland police union president Darryl Turner called getting rid of the gun violence reduction team “a big mistake” that would threaten the safety of residents.  Last week, rioters set the police union building in North Portland on fire. 

Protestors burning a pig head, their symbol for police.

Portland residents Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein explain their views of what’s happening in a series of podcasts, the Dark Horse Podcast. Only a tiny proportion of Portlanders agree with the defunding policy, but the rioters win.  Seattle, another city full of pot shops, is also defunding its police, but a petition to refund the police gathered over 200,000 signatures

Marijuana stores busier and pot shop thefts explode

Cannabis sales have gone up 20% since March. Furthermore, 60 weed store thefts have occurred since May.  Really? Weed was supposed to make people mellow, or so they claim. 

From this article, Weed Robbery Spree Strikes Portland: Joe Russo, who co-owns a cannabis distribution company, says the sales increase makes sense. People are working less [coronavirus related job loss] and many are getting generous unemployment benefits.

“It makes sense that recreational vices are picking up,” Russo says.

Police officers speak up

Is it possible that Portland’s violent protestors deliberately loot the purveyors of their favorite drug? Are these nightly rages against the federal courthouse drug-fueled rampages? We submit the following evidence to the court of public opinion.

This below video is a press conference with some of the front lines police officers giving their perspective. The first to speak is Sargent Brent Maxey, who described a nightmarish attack on his Central Police Precinct building, and the civilian workers inside. Maxey says:

“It got to the point where they were throwing burning material into the lobby through the gaps in the windows, and blowing marijuana smoke, it was almost like a scene out of a horror movie. It was really unnerving…they had removed all the plywood, they had disabled all the exterior cameras, they started coming at the windows with hammers, they had removed some 2×4 lumber and were smashing at the windows of the precinct at what I believe was a sincere effort to get inside… by words and actions their intent was to harm us and essentially burn down the building…”.

–from Police on Portland Protests video, below
https://youtu.be/wMe2hou_sgE

Officer Rehanna Kerriage describes many of the calls received by the downtown Portland precinct:

“consist of livability issues: camping issues, mental health, drug issues, some shootings, stabbings, protest related issues and defending police property.”

–from Police on Portland Protests video, above

We know that many drug users end up homeless and living on the street (camping issues) with deteriorating mental health issues. 

Homelessness is up, too.

The homelessness population has completely changed since 2014.  Back then, it wasn’t even noticeable.  Are people moving to the city because of the weed and then becoming homeless?

A drug legalization lobby, spearheaded by Drug Policy Alliance, aggressively demonizes law enforcement with oft-used phrases such as, “war on drugs,” “mass incarceration,” “militarized police force,” “low level drug crimes.”  Their game is to make the public believe that possession of drugs, rather than crimes committed while on drugs, lands people in jail. This year, the Drug Policy Alliance donated nearly $ 2.5 million for a ballot to decriminalize all drugs in Oregon.  Drug Policy Alliance, a Soros-funded group, gave most of the $ 9.2 million used for Measure 91, the ballot to legalize pot, back in 2014.

Marijuana use is a frequent element of these mass protests the “Chaz/Chop zone” in Seattle, the Ferguson protests and the attack on the Central Portland Precinct.  While it may be scientifically difficult to associate marijuana use to the mob violence breaking out in several cities, it is still important to observe and pinpoint what role marijuana use plays as a root cause of the violence.

Cannabis’ negative effects can promote some of the behaviors we witness in the triggering incidents and the follow-on protests and riots. Among those are, resisting arrest, confusing fact with fiction, attractions to violent ideologies, mood disorders, paranoia and psychosis, violent outbursts.  Jeremy Christian, who committed the violent knife attack on a Portland train three years ago, was a cannabis fanatic.

For more information about cannabis related violence, see Think Ya Know? Is Marijuana a Risk Factor for Violence? Or, read Alex Berenson’s book, Tell Your Children the Truth about Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence.

Sargent Brent Maxey gave a longer interview to a local Portland reporter. Check it out, I Want People to Know the Truth – A Police Officer’s Perspective on the Portland Protests.