Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol to Run 'Dear Mom' TV Ad During 'The Today Show' and 'Ellen' on Friday Before Mother's Day

In the campaign's first ad, a young woman sends her mother an email to start a conversation about marijuana and alcohol

MAY 10, 2012 – DENVER – The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will run a Mother's Day-themed television advertisement tomorrow, Friday, May 11, during NBC's "The Today Show." The ad will also air during "Ellen," and the Mother's Day episode of "The Doctors." It is the first television ad in support of the statewide ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol, Amendment 64.

The ad can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/JkyqVE

The ad features a young woman sitting at a laptop sending an email to her mother, explaining why she prefers marijuana over alcohol and asking her mother if she would like to talk about the issue. In particular, she describes how marijuana poses far less harm to her health and how she feels safer around people using marijuana than she does around those using alcohol.

"Our goal with this ad is to start a conversation – and encourage others to start their own conversations – about marijuana," said Betty Aldworth, advocacy director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. "As more people talk to their family and friends about marijuana, more people understand that marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol and ought to be regulated like alcohol."

The ad directs viewers to TalkItUpColorado.org, a new public education project that will be a centerpiece of the campaign in support of Amendment 64. The site compliments the campaign's strategy of encouraging and facilitating interpersonal communication about marijuana, particularly between younger people and older voters, such as their parents and grandparents.

"We will win this election if more older folks come to appreciate that marijuana is an acceptable and less harmful alternative to alcohol for adults," Aldworth said. "For years they have been led to believe marijuana is more dangerous than it actually is, and that marijuana users are all slackers and losers. Once they hear from those closest to them that marijuana is used by millions of hard-working and professional people for the same reasons most adults use alcohol, they'll be forced to think about why they would prefer people use alcohol instead of a less harmful substance."

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