The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is using a now-infamous first person account of excessive cannabis consumption to highlight the group’s new education initiative encouraging responsible consumption.
MPP on Wednesday announced the launch of the website www.consumeresponsibly.org, which helps novice consumers navigate their their first cannabis experiences.
As part of the campaign, MPP has taken a cue from New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who infamously wrote in June about a horrendous experience she had on a trip to Colorado when she tried marijuana-infused edibles for the first time. Using a redheaded model to parody the scarlet-headed Dowd, MPP launched a public education campaign to warn users to “start low and go slow.”
MPP purchased space on a billboard in Denver and erected a spoof of Dowd, with a woman holding her head in her hands, underneath the slogan, “Don’t let a candy bar ruin your vacation.” The campaign’s aim is to get marijuana consumers to use moderation and caution.
“Now that marijuana is a legal product like alcohol in some states – and on its way to becoming legal in others – it needs to be treated that way. That’s where the Consume Responsibly campaign comes in,” said Mason Tvert, communications director for MPP.
Dowd took the ribbing in stride, telling The Daily Beast in an email that she loves the billboard and plans “to make it my Christmas card.”
MPP promised that the campaign will expand to Washington and then any other states that legalize recreational marijuana use for adults.
