Lock Up Rush Limbaugh? MPP Asks Members to Vote on New Radio Ads

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Rather than just ask our members for money, we want to get them involved

Washington, D.C. (Vocus) December 14, 2006

Should Rush Limbaugh go to jail because of his arrest earlier this year on drug charges? That's one of the questions members of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) will consider as they vote on which radio ad the organization should air starting in January.

On his program last spring, Limbaugh called cancer patients and others who use medical marijuana, "the long-haired, maggot-infested, dope smoking crowd." MPP's ad, one of four spots that members will choose from, asks listeners whether the radio host should be locked up or deserves sympathy in the wake of his arrest on charges of prescription drug fraud involving the narcotic OxyContin.

In an e-mail going out today, MPP members will be asked to listen to the spots at www.mpp.org/VoteAds and vote for the ads of their choice with their contribution dollars, which will go to help air the spots. Each dollar will count as a vote for the selected ad, and the winning ad will begin running in January as part of MPP's ongoing sponsorship of Jim Hightower's nationally syndicated "Common Sense Commentaries" and the "Downsize DC Conference Call."

"Rather than just ask our members for money, we want to get them involved," said MPP Director of Communications Bruce Mirken. "Along the way, we hope to have a little fun while countering some of the government's misinformation about marijuana."

Two of the other ads members will consider are game show parodies highlighting common misperceptions about marijuana. In one spot, contestants are asked which drug is least addictive: alcohol, marijuana, or cigarettes. "Alcohol!" one contestant quickly guesses. "Nope!" comes the answer. "Cigarettes?" the other contestant asks, but the correct answer elicits gasps of surprise: According to government-funded research, marijuana is the least addictive of the three drugs.

In the fourth ad, a middle-aged woman says, "This may sound strange, but I want to pay taxes." She goes on to explain, "I don't drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. I relax with something science has proven is much safer: marijuana. And I want to buy it somewhere that charges taxes to pay for schools and roads, just like alcohol and tobacco."

With more than 21,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org .

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications     202-215-4205 or 415-668-6403

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