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New York Times writer Maureen Dowd has literally become the poster woman for responsible pot consumption, after a public awareness campaign turned her bad edibles trip into a cautionary tale.
Dowd, a Pulitzer-winning columnist, raised eyebrows in Colorado in June with a column describing her “hallucinatory” experience on marijuana-infused edibles.
“As my paranoia deepened, I became convinced that I had died, and no one was telling me,” Dowd wrote in her controversial column.
Marijuana supporters questioned the column at the time, suggesting that Dowd might have ignored instructions about how much to eat.
But now they are using Dowd’s column as an opportunity to raise awareness about consuming cannabis responsibly.
“For decades, efforts to educate people about marijuana have been characterized by exaggeration, fear mongering and condescension,” said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. “They have not made anyone smarter or safer.
“Like most Americans, Ms. Dowd has probably seen countless silly anti-marijuana ads on TV, but she has never seen one that highlights the need to ‘start low and go slow’ when choosing to consume marijuana edibles,” Tvert continued.
MPP’s campaign kicked off with a billboard in Denver that warns tourists, “Don’t let a candy bar ruin your vacation.” The billboard features a distressed woman in a dark hotel room, alluding to Dowd’s experience in her Denver hotel room.
The educational effort encourages consumers to go slow, pointing out that edibles can take up to two hours to take effect.
The campaign also includes a website, ConsumeResponsibly.org, which features information about marijuana products, effects and laws governing the recently legalized drug in Colorado.
Advocates are also running print and online ads, as well as distributing materials in retail marijuana stores.
“Honest and effective marijuana education is long overdue,” said Vince Mehdizadeh, founder and senior strategist at Medbox Inc., a company that makes marijuana vending machines. “We are proud to support this historic campaign and hope other businesses and organizations will join us in spreading its important message.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
