Medical Marijuana a Cash Crop for Newspaper Ads

The ReLeaf supplement of the Colorado Springs Independent.

/ CBS

It's not as thick as the Sunday New York Times, but a pullout supplement of the Colorado Springs Independent newspaper is gaining heft thanks to ads aimed at consumers of medical marijuana.

In Colorado, California and Montana, where marijuana for medical use is legal, newspapers are getting a high from ad revenue for this emerging market, The New York Times reports today.

This is most valuable at a time when newspapers are hurting for advertising, particularly classified ads, which have plummeted with the rise of online services like Craigslist.

With full-page ads in its 48-page "ReLeaf" supplement costing about $1,100, the cash infusion has allowed the Independent to hire a new reporter and promote three staffers to full time.

"Medical marijuana has been a revenue blessing over and above what we anticipated," Independent publisher John Weiss told The Times' Jeremy W. Peters. "This wasn't in our marketing plan a year ago, and now it is about 10 percent of our paper's revenue."

And it's not just purveyors of weed who are buying ads: The legalization of medical marijuana has spurred ancillary businesses (tax lawyers, security specialists) to advertise as well.

When the Obama administration announced last fall it would not prosecute medical marijuana users and suppliers (if they were in compliance with the laws in those states where it is legal), that relaxed concerns about openly marketing the product. Newspapers began publishing supplements geared toward the medical marijuana consumer, such as SF Weekly's "The Rolling Paper" in San Francisco.

The ad revenue is flowing to alternative papers, free weeklies and more established major market newspapers like the Denver Post. (There are approximately 250 stores in the Denver area that sell medical marijuana.)

But as the Times writes today, ballot initiatives and legislative efforts in Colorado and Montana may restrict sales, which would likely stanch the flow of advertising revenue.

For more read The New York Times article "New Fuel for Local Papers: Medical Marijuana Ads."

[alicesen]

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[alicesen]

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[alicesen]

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[davewk2002]

In February, 2000 researchers in Madrid (Dr. Manuel Guzman of Complutense University) announced they had destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.
The Madrid study marks only the second time that THC has been administered to tumor-bearing animals; the first was a Virginia investigation 26 years ago. In both studies, the THC shrank or destroyed tumors in a majority of the test subjects.
Most Americans don't know anything about the Madrid discovery. Virtually no major U.S. newspapers carried the story, which ran only once on the AP and UPI news wires, on Feb. 29, 2000.
The ominous part is that this isn't the first time scientists have discovered that THC shrinks tumors. In 1974 researchers at the Medical College of Virginia, who had been funded by the National Institute of Health to find evidence that marijuana damages the immune system, found instead that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice - lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia.
The DEA quickly shut down the Virginia study and all further cannabis/tumor research, according to Jack Herer, who reports on the events in his book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes." In 1976 President Gerald Ford put an end to all public cannabis research and granted exclusive research rights to major pharmaceutical companies, who set out - unsuccessfully - to develop synthetic forms of THC that would deliver all the medical benefits without the "high."
Instead of pursuing a cure for cancer we got the War on Drugs. After spending more than a trillion dollars and imprisoning more than twenty million people that war has met none of its original ten goals. In the latest SAMHSA survey conducted by the government, kids continue to report that it is easier to get marijuana than it is to get alcohol or cigarettes. It?s time to tax and regulate cannabis. It?s time for our government to stop blocking research into medical marijuana.

[ky7474]

So turn your anger on prescription drugs and alcohol. Leave the natural meds alone. Unless you prefer synthetic imitations, then shut up your a hypocrite.

[tsigili]

So.......no one has learned anything from the rise in prescription drug abuse, following the approval of prescription drug TV advertising????

Typical.

[revraygreen]

let's see, a newspaper sells advertising to readers to stay in business and make a profit.
(what's that say aboout people who can read)

If they would only start printing them on hemp paper also.Make it legal make it green make it now......

When you see the blinking green beacon
You'll hear Rev, St. Mike and 'the Deacon
'herbal education about healing this nation

desmoinesamplified.com GREEN CENTRAL STATION
...Red Sweaters,buttons no scare

Is that the smell of freedom in the air
Saturday service is in session
Just be Jah blessin'

Johnny Reeferseed brings it LIVE with some red-eyed soul LIVE in the studio 10/2/2010
http://www.desmoinesamplified.com/show_date.asp?showid=116&id=758

Johnny Reeferseed brings it with some red-eyed soul LIVE in the studio with 'Down to Seeds and Stems' along with an original song 'Brother Can You Spare a Dime(bag)'.Major discussion about the 'Red Sweater Babes from Jones County' and the Iowa Board of Pharmacy meeting 9/28/10..

[Conservative_1976]

mjs321-
You're making a mistake: Marijuana is relativley safe, mild intoxicant, unlike Oxcontin, which is an addictive, potentialy lethal narcotic. The Schedule 1 business is a political decision with little basis in science or medicine. Wider legal access to marijuana is likely to lead to FEWER problems with addictive drugs such as Oxycontin.

Jesus said to treat other people the way we would want to be treated. Let's stop putting ordinary Americans in jail over a little marijuana.

[mjs321]

Why doesn't the Federal government step in the STOP these ads?????
"5 FREE JOINTS" Ads, etc. What in the world is happening to the USA?????? It is OUT OF CONTROL!!!!

You might as well have ads for oxycontin all over the newspapers, Web, TV and radio.

"OXYCONTIN- Ask your doctor for a prescription today! It is HEROIN but in medicine form! Oxycontin is the best-selling non-generic narcotic pain reliever. It gives you the high. You can crush the pill into powder and snort it like you would do heroin. Get a prescription today and enjoy oxycontin with your daily living."

What in the world is the USA getting into????? It is all about money and forget the drug abuse and abuse on health. These people do not care about health anymore.

Medical Marijuana is legalized marijuana that is disguised as medicine. Anyone can qualify for medical marijuana with fake pain, money and a quack doctor.

The Federal Government should STOP this madness of advertising a Schedule 1 drug.

[Conservative_1976]

Jesus said to treat other people the way we would want to be treated. I know I wouldn?t want my kid to go to jail with the sexual predators, or my aging parents to have their house confiscated and sold by the police, if they grew a little marijuana in their own back yard.

Let?s change the world. Let?s get registered and vote.

Citizens and college students can register at the state links shown below.

In other states, Google your state name and the phrase, voter registration. Print off the form and mail it in (or drive it down to City Hall).

And put it on your calendar for Nov 2. VOTE! (In some states, you can request an early ballot today and get it out of the way!)

Five minutes. Register to vote. Change the world. Right now.

Pass it on (Tweet, Facebook, ? ?)

Voter registration for California (deadline: October 18)
w w w . sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm .
(just fill out the form and mail it in).

California request a ballot by mail:
w w w . sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_m.htm .

Other states: Google your state name and ?voter registration.?

College students: You can usually register as a citizen of either your hometown or your college residence town. Share the voter registration info through your student newspaper, twitter, etc.

[mstrknightstar]

Come on people...wake up...Dont we all burn alittle to relax...Well most of us?