In an effort to weed out ads that may appeal to recreational users of what is supposed to be medical marijuana, Boulder officials may soon regulate the images and messages used to advertise local dispensaries.
City staffers wrote in a memo to the City Council on Thursday that they are recommending several changes to Boulder’s medical-marijuana regulations, which have been in place for more than a year.
The council will consider the changes Tuesday night. The new rules would expressly prohibit marijuana marketing that is “inconsistent with the medicinal use of medical marijuana.”
It is illegal under state law to display signs inconsistent with local laws or to use advertising that is misleading, deceptive, false or designed to appeal to minors.
City spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said the proposed changes are targeted at licensed medical-marijuana businesses.
“We expect people to recognize that the ordinance and the business license they have is to sell medical marijuana,” she said.
City staffers have noticed advertisements, she said, that clearly appeal to recreational users of the drug instead of patients.
“Marijuana ‘happy hours,’ for example, puts the substance in a recreational context,” Huntley said. ” ‘Back-to-school’ sales could be seen as problematic.”
Huntley said simply offering sales or discounts on the drug would not, by itself, violate the new rules.
The licensing clerk would be charged with deciding whether an advertisement crosses the line, although Huntley acknowledged there’s a “certain amount of subjectivity” to that process.
Businesses that feel the city is being unfair could take the matter to court, she added.
Violating the new advertising rules would not come with a fee or fine. Instead, Huntley said, the city would consider a company’s advertising practices as “one factor” when it comes time to renew its business license.
The city’s proposal generated a mix of opinions Thursday.
Jason Lauve, a medical-marijuana patient who was acquitted of felony drug possession in 2009 and has since become publisher of Cannabis Health News Magazine in Louisville, said he doesn’t allow companies to place ads on the back cover of his magazine that feature pot leaves or buds.
He said he supports the intent of Boulder’s proposed code changes but thinks legitimate patients are smart enough to steer clear of dispensaries that market to casual users.
“I wish the government would let the market forces drive themselves and let the customers decide for themselves,” he said.
