Markets

How Not to Advertise Medical Marijuana

By Jim Edwards

Updated on: November 19, 2009 / 12:49 PM EST / MoneyWatch

Medical marijuana may be legal in California but that doesn't mean you can say whatever you like about it on billboards near schools. That's the takeaway from an incident in Anaheim which resulted in three outdoor ads parked within a block of a high school being removed. The OC Register reports:

The billboards, located near the corner of Ball Road and Gilbert Street, originally depicted a man described as a plumber who was able to return to work after suffering from back pain because he used marijuana. The ad described the man as "A Typical Stoner," and also said "Marijuana Works."

Those signs were replaced last week by ones that simply showed the company's logo, MediCann, and contact information. (Click image to enlarge; a gallery of photos is available at the OC Register.) No prizes for guessing which billboard company placed the ads in the first place: It's Lamar Advertising (LAMR):

Mike Cossota, a sales manager with Lamar Advertising, the company that owns the billboards, said advertisements for MediCann should have never gone up so close to a school.

Lamar has a habit of putting up controversial billboards and then taking them down again. It recently moved an ad promoting atheism in Ohio after the landowner received threats. It has taken down ads that criticized Israel and refused to sell sites to groups who don't believe President Obama's birth certificate is genuine. In Alabama, Lamar refused to sell space for a different atheist ad that said "Imagine No Religion." The company also flip-flopped on an ad that criticized a Republican politician over healthcare reform. (Lamar does, however, have a pro-hooker policy, at least in Texas.)