Hey, Pot People – kind of a cheap shot here, don’t you think?

The Marijuana Policy Project has rolled out (rolled up?) a new ad campaign, debuting at the Brickyard 400 NASCAR event in Indianapolis last weekend touting the virtues of pot and calling for its legalization.

All fine and good, except that they do it at the expense of beer. The ad, done up in the style of a traditional knuckle-headed mass market beer ad, riffs on the theme of “Less harmful than beer – and time to treat it that way.” It touts pot as an alternative to beer, with no calories, no hangovers and no association with “violence and reckless behavior” (you may debate that assertion among yourselves).

I’m guessing that  “less harmful than beer” must have tested better with the focus groups than “less dangerous than crack,” but really, come on, guys. Pot and beer have a long and happy association, starting with the fact that marijuana and hops are botanical cousins, and moving onto successful hippie-vibed breweries such as Lagunitas and Mount Shasta Brewing, makers of “Weed Ales” (merely named, of course, for the town where the brewery is located. Got that, federal regulators?).

Can’t we all just get along, Marijuana Policy Project?

– Sean Scully