Dear Media: Please Use This Realistic Marijuana B-Roll for Your News Stories

A couple of years ago I was watching my boss get interviewed on television about the cost of marijuana prohibition, growing public opinion in favor of legalization, and legislative efforts for marijuana policy reform. It was a fairly wonky conversation peppered with serious facts about the billions of dollars wasted on fighting the war on marijuana and the hundreds of thousands of people arrested each year.

But there was an irritating distraction. Whenever the program cut to video footage, it was all a bunch of young guys at maybe a 420 festival wearing stereotypical stoner uniforms (pot leaves, tie-dye, etc.) smoking comically enormous joints.

We’ve all seen it before, an otherwise normal news story about marijuana policy that cuts away to footage of cannabis caricatures. It’s goofy, awkward, condescending and doesn’t reflect the average marijuana consumer, who more than likely looks like a normal person you might see at a...

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URL: 
http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/dear-media-please-use-realistic-marijuana-b-roll-your-news-stories