Marijuana Advertisement Debunk

WHY MARIJUANA?

With the recent legalization of cannabis, advertisements for this drug are very new. Ads for marijuana are still fairly regulated. It is likely that eventually, advertisements will diffuse to other outlets but for the time being, they are almost entirely centered around media already involving marijuana. I chose this ad because it is clear in its intentions in support of marijuana legalization. The reason that I chose marijuana to research is that it is the drug which is most prevalent in my life. A large portion of my family and my friends regularly use marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes. I was curious to learn about how they may be impacted by advertisements for this drug especially as it becomes legalized and more popular. Having a critical view of the information I am told about a substance that I am often exposed to is very important for decision making in regards to my own use as well as interacting with others who have chosen to use cannabis themselves.

WHO IS ADVERTISING?

The advertisement lists www.marijuanaissafer.org as a reference which is a website run by the Marijuana Policy Project. The Marijuana Policy Project was founded in January 1995 while medical marijuana was still illegal in every state. The Marijuana Policy Project has been working with local organizations from all around the country to introduce pro-marijuana policies and initiatives in almost every state (MPP). The mission of The Marijuana Policy Project is to increase public support of pro-marijuana policies, change state laws to reduce or eliminate penalties for the use of marijuana, and to gain influence in Congress for federal legalization initiatives. The Marijuana Policy Project has played a key role in changing most major state-level marijuana policy reforms since the early 2000s. The Marijuana Policy Project typically has roughly 40 full-time employees and countless part-time/volunteers working for the full legalization of marijuana.

WHO IS THE INTENDED AUDIENCE?

This ad was part of a campaign run by The Marijuana Policy Project which purchased $2,500 worth of buss billboard advertisement space on buses in Portland, Maine. At the time when this advertisement was run in 2013 marijuana was still illegal recreationally. Recreational marijuana became legal in Portland Maine later in the 2013 year. Bus ads are used to target the average citizen. Public transport is used by all kinds of people thus this ad was viewed by people from all sorts of backgrounds. The advantages of transit advertisements are that they are hard to ignore and reach a wide audience variety (Kobliski). This is the best place to run an ad intended to change the public opinion of Marijuana.

The man pictured in the ad is incredibly average. The man appears very normal on purpose. It is meant to convey normality to the audience. If the audience previously viewed marijuana users as criminals or fringe members of society, seeing an average seemingly successful member of society preach the benefits of marijuana use it is likely to change their mind. Advertisements featuring “real people” tend to be more effective because the average person is more concerned with keeping up with their friends and neighbors than celebrities whos lifestyles are unattainable (MONSTER). While there are definite advantages to using celebrities people tend to react more if they view the subject of the advertisement similar to themselves.

WHAT IS MARIJUANA?

Marijuana has several active ingredients. THC (Delta-g-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the most commonly known component of cannabis. THC is what produces the drugs effects or high. THC is often used to measure the strength and potency of marijuana due to is very noticeable effects. The potency of marijuana has been rising, from 1995 to 2014 it has tripled (NCBI). Despite the sharp increase in marijuana potency, there have been no cases of death from marijuana. The estimated lethal dose would be equivalent to a 175lb man consuming more than 53 grams of pure THC at once (Breathes).

Despite marijuana lethality not being a concern, the risk of dependence still remains. Marijuana addiction is often not perceived as a large problem because only about 9% of users will exhibit traits of dependence (NIDA). That 9% that do become addicted will remain relatively high functioning in comparison to other drug addiction characteristics.

There is the possibility of mental health problems associated with marijuana use. Adolescents (under age of 15) who consume THC daily are considered five times more likely to develop depression and/or anxiety in later life (RCP). Those who frequently use marijuana as adolescents also have a higher risk of developing a psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, later in life. While it is clear to say that marijuana use at a young age poses a higher risk for mental health problems the possibility of risk may still exist as the potential user ages.

ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES

The Advertisement uses visual imagery to captivate the potential viewer. Bold words and highly contrasting colors are used as an attention grabber to draw the unsuspecting eye. Important words are bolder making them pop out at the viewer so even if they do not fully read it they may still subconsciously register the message. Once the subject begins to read the advertisement it quickly becomes clear that it casts marijuana in a positive light. This advertisement does not use deception although it certainly would resonate with the target audience. The use of a “normal” person makes it easier for the viewer to imagine themselves using marijuana in a non-threatening way.

MY OPINION?

From my perspective and research marijuana can be harmful if misused but if the user is able to use it responsibly at a mature age they most likely will not experience many negative effects. Balance is essential when it comes to marijuana use. If one is able to use marijuana infrequently at times when it does not inhibit them in any way then I think there can be benefits to using it.

I have seen very good examples of both irresponsible and responsible marijuana use. One of my very close friends began using marijuana and now has continued to smoke roughly half a gram of THC concentrates a day. Using this much marijuana is not a healthy habit. It can impare his normal functioning (not being able to operate a vehicle) and he spends a significant amount of money on it. On the flip side, I have friends who use marijuana infrequently to relax when they are very stressed. This can be a good thing for them because stress can cause many adverse health effects.

I would not recommend anyone use marijuana if they are still young and developing mentally. It is hard to say if I would recommend marijuana to a fully developed adult as there are many variables. If I felt that they were at a place in their life where they were financially stable and able to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle while partaking in marijuana use then I would say the choice is theirs!

 

Project, M. P. (n.d.). Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.mpp.org/

Kobliski, K. J. (2005, March 17). The Advantages of Transit Advertising. Retrieved October 24, 2017, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/76826

Use Real People or Celebrities in Your Advertising Campaign? (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2017, from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/real-people-or-celebrities-in-ads

ElSohly, M. A., Mehmedic, Z., Foster, S., Gon, C., Chandra, S., & Church, J. C. (2016, April 01). Changes in Cannabis Potency over the Last Two Decades (1995-2014) – Analysis of Current Data in the United States. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4987131/

US CO: Column: How Much THC Equals A Lethal Dose? (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2017, from http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n599/a06.html

Abuse, N. I. (n.d.). Is marijuana addictive? Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-addictive

(n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2017, from http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/cannabis.aspx

I’m SO HIGH right MEOW

Fuzzy orange cat pictured on ad for “Clear Choice Cannabis” Next to him it says “I’M SO HIGH RIGHT MEOW”

Pictured here is an ad for a marijuana dispensary in Washington. I picked this ad because it is one I have seen near my own home and have personal experience with this billboard. The company marketing this product is called Clear Choice Cannabis. This is one of many cannabis stores in Tacoma. SeaTac is where the main airport in WA is, so it is a hot spot for marijuana since it is the first place where people from out of state see legal WA marijuana. Clear Choice does not have info on their website about their founding date, but it would be within the last 5 years of legal marijuana in WA state. Cannabis shops, like any kind of shop, are there to bring in revenue and that is why they advertise. They also tell us they’re dedicated to enhancing each users cannabis experience. Intended audience for this can be people from non-legal marijuana states.  The ad is goofy, making a cat pun. It intends to get the attention of the young or goofy “stoner” crowd.

The issue with the message pictured is in the nature of the cat. It is an image that catches the attention of children and that can cause problems. This billboard has actually been causing some drama within the area, since a warm fluffy cat may bring children’s attention to the billboard and children would then learn about cannabis. State lawmakers are always concerned with the federal law, and by being unstrict about cannabis they put a target on the back of our states cannabis industry. This is making lawmakers reevaluate the limits on advertising with this industry. New rules would limit the amount of fluffy fuzzy animals and images of actual cannabis for the sake of children and others.

Cannabis’ active ingredient is Tetra Hydra Cannabinol, or more commonly known as THC. To learn more about how THC acts in your brain when you smoke, follow this link to see Hank Green explain in a well cited video. Now the dangers of cannabis are not extremely flushed out since its legality is not widespread. There have been links from excessive weed smoking to lung cancer and emphysema, especially when paired with tobacco smoking, as we see in this study. A lot of the definite risks I have seen associated with cannabis are related to the act of smoking it more so than the actual active ingredient itself. Mentally, marijuana can make a person more depressed after long usage, according to this article. The ad mentioned earlier does not tell us much about the long term effects of cannabis because it would not prove to be effective marketing.

A lot of the real issues with cannabis exist because of racism that the drug is used to enforce. Although both black and white people use cannabis as often as each other, the arrest rates are drastically different. In most cases black people are 4x more likely to be arrested for cannabis use, and in some places like Maryland and Washington DC black people are 8x more likely to be arrested for marijuana use, according to this article by The Washington Post. Even in places where weed is legal it is still skewed against those in minority. Smoking is only allowed in private homes, never public places and multi family housing with anti-smoking policy includes the smoking of cannabis.

This ad sensationalizes marijuana with lighthearted goofy imagery. The cat represents a silly lighthearted culture associated with weed and grabs the general audiences attention with the humor from the pun. Appealing to a persons sense of humor is a very strong advertising strategy. Cats are also very hip right now, with popular internet culture, having a cat present on the ad is almost the same as having a very relatable celebrity. This is deceptive because it doesn’t actually make you any funnier than you are, which the ad implies, but there is some truth to it in the way that a high person would really appreciate that pun because of their altered mental state.

All in all, I would not mind my friends and family using cannabis. Personally, as long as they have a positive relationship with the drug that doesn’t go into the territory of dependence then who am I to invade what they do in their personal time. This is also just a result of my own laid back personal philosophy.

Marijuana Advertisement Debunk

https://www.engadget.com/2015/06/10/leafly-the-web-ultimate-cannabis-resource/

Marijuana has become a more popular drug as time goes on. With the legalization and recreational use of this drug, adolescents are beginning to see cannabis as a common drug. With marijuana being legal in some states, more and more people, not just adolescents, are participating in the use of this drug. Now there are middle-aged mothers smoking to relax after taking their child to school and businessmen sitting down for a smoke instead of a drink. As this drug becomes more popular, there are less negative stereotypes attached to this drug. Marijuana is an interesting drug because of its increased popularity and normality in the last decade. As time goes by, the stereotypes change and mold into the positive benefits. Even though that this drug is being used more recreational, marijuana does not have as many advertisements as other drugs. This advertisement is for the Compassionate Care Act in New York, which was an act passed to let people use marijuana medically in June of 2014. This advertisement explains that people with an illness do not have to suffer as much because of the passed act. There is also a little information about the website of Leafly on the bottom.

Leafly is the largest cannabis information website in the world since 2010. They specialize in informing cannabis users about strains, common questions, different methods of smoking, and knowledge about products. Leafly mainly focuses on digital marketing. In today’s society, almost everyone in America has a smart phone or access to a computer. Leafly’s smart marketing stagey is to keep most information on the website. According to Leafly.com in an article titled How to Market your Cannabis Business revised in 2017 by the Leafly staff, Leafly wants to keep communication between the brand and the audience online using blogs, articles, and websites (Leafly staff, 2017). A lot of companies have picked up this strategy because of the popularity of online use. The marijuana industry uses the same marketing styles as others; however, there are a few details that are different. Leafly takes advantage of creating interactive activities on their website. There is also an application for smart phones in case people want to take their questions about marijuana on the go. Sponsorship and collaboration is very important for an online business because the more people who know about the industry, the more the website will grow.

The intended audience for this advertisement is people who have an illness. Marijuana is known to help people who have cancer and other sicknesses with pain during their treatment. This was found on the Leafly website. By looking at this advertisement, there also seems to be a target age. Leafly is promoting their website to middle-aged Americans. People who would most likely will be seeing this advertisement are current cannabis users because Leafly posted the ad on their website.

           According to DrugAbuse.gov in an article titled What is Marijuana? by Nora D. Volkow in 2013, marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried flowers of Cannabis sativa (Volkow, 2013). The main chemical in this drug is called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which is also known as THC. THC is what causes the high while intoxicated with marijuana. There are many strains of marijuana, which means that there are different kinds of marijuana that have different affects. This drug also has many names. Some names include cannabis, weed, Mary Jane, skunk, pot, sticky icky, devil’s lettuce, wacky tabacky, and many more. People use this drug for many reasons. Along with medical use, marijuana is also used recreationally. There is a variety of ways to consume this drug. Smoking marijuana is the most popular way of consuming this drug. People smoke rolled leaves or in a piece such as a bong or a pipe. Marijuana can also be broken down and put in food. People take out the THC from the plant and then break it down into a form of fat such as butter. They then use the butter to bake sweets and other food. According to the same article by Volkow, marijuana can lead to dependency. Not many people become dependent on marijuana though. According to an article titled The Biggest Myths about Marijuana – Debunked by an Addiction Expert on Quartz website by Akshat Rathi in 2015, “Marijuana can affect the brain like other addictive substances by causing surges in certain chemicals, like dopamine, in the brain… Most who use marijuana do not become addicted to it. Published data say that 9% of adults and 17% of young people who use it become addicted” (Rathi, 2015). This advertisement did not mention the ingredients of the drug. They also did not include the negative aspects. This was mainly advertising a website. On they website there is very detailed informational articles and posts about the drug. For advertisements it is very important to state the side effects of whatever you are promoting so that the audience knows what they are doing to their body.

Leafly used advertising techniques for this promotion. “Just Say Know” is written in big letters to catch the eyes of the audience. This phrase does not have much detail because Leafly wants people to look into the ad more. There are also two attractive, white, middle-aged Americans on the advertisement. That is also a style of advertising. The addition of movement was also an eye catching effect. When writing in the strain bubbles, Leafly decided to write as little as possible, which is a good choice because no one would want to read a long and complicated paragraph about how different strains have different affects. Leafly finally gives the audience a little suspense because the advertisement states some information, but not all of the information. The audience has to go the Leafly.com to find out more about marijuana.

In my opinion, marijuana is not the worst drug in the world. Being a college student, I come across many different drugs. Marijuana is tame compared to other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs, and even alcohol. Marijuana calms the mind and relaxes me. I cannot complain about those effects. I would recommend this drug to my friends and family member. Cannabis has helped me with my anxiety and pain. I have done my research to become aware of the affects of the different substances I am taking. Overall, marijuana advertisements have misconceptions on them as do most advertisements.

 

 

 

References

 

Leafly Staff (2017). How to Market your Cannabis Business.  Retrieved from https://www.leafly.com/company/about

Rathi, Akshat (2015). The Biggest Myths about Marijuana – Debunked by an Addiction Expert. Retrieved from https://qz.com/528539/the-biggest-myths-about-marijuana-debunked-by-an-addiction-expert/

Volkow, Nora D. (2013). What is Marijuana? Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-marijuana

 

Sadie Sullivan