New York Medical Marijuana News

Medical marijuana advocates take bill fight to TV ads; stymied by TV
affiliates who won't air them

by Glenn Bain
Daily News Staff Writer

Thursday, September 17th 2009, 4:00 AM

ALBANY - Just say yes!

That's the message a national pro-pot group is taking to New York's
airwaves with a pair of commercials urging state lawmakers to pass a
medical marijuana bill.

"We figured it was time to bring some attention to this," said Bruce
Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Each of the ads features a chronic pain sufferer touting the benefits of
toking up.

Legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Sen. Thomas
Duane, both Manhattan Democrats, would make it legal for people with
serious medical conditions to score limited amounts of marijuana from
state-certified distributors or grow it themselves.

The bill has passed the Assembly but gone up in smoke in the Senate,
where it is unlikely to win approval anytime soon.

The group is running the ads on WNBC-TV and local cable stations, hoping
to woo key senators. The ads are also running upstate.The city's ABC,
CBS and Fox affiliates harshed the group's buzz by declining to run the
ads, Mirken added.

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tes_ads_stoned_ by_tv_affiliates .html