Weed merchants in Washington state picked up on the popularity of inflatable tube men usually seen waving and flapping around outside of car dealers and mattress stores and occasionally onstage at concerts.
But complaints about the inflatables, green in color and moving erratically in front of marijuana shops, streamed into the regulatory agency set up to control the weed industry.
Last year, the Washington state Legislature let the air out of the tube men and other inflatables, deeming them too appealing to children. A host of other advertising tactics, such as people in costumes, employed by the marijuana retailers in what has become a cutthroat business have also been banned.
Now, even the image of marijuana leaves is restricted in advertising.
“Advertising was the No. 1 problem” in regulating the nascent industry, said Justin Nordhorn chief of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board Enforcement and Education Division. But it was only one among several.
Nordhorn highlighted lessons learned since Washington voters approved a measure to allow the personal use of marijuana in November 2012. He and other experts spoke Tuesday at a symposium in Atlantic City hosted by Law Enforcement Against Drugs, a drug and violence prevention organization, that highlighted some of the missteps of states where marijuana has become legal, adjustments made along the way and some of the social costs and pitfalls.
You can watch a video from the conference at the top of this story, or check out the videos below.
Youth diversion
Polls show that nearly two-thirds of people in the country support the legalization of marijuana. But many still express concern about kids getting their hands on it
“Diversion of legal marijuana to anyone under the age of 21 was a huge concern,” Nordhorn said.
But the retail shops turned out to have a high compliance rate when it came to not selling to underage people, Nordhorn said. Several stings a year at each of the more than 500 retail outlets in the state help keep operators towing the line.
While that’s a positive sign that the regulatory system is working as far as diversion goes, few things are clear in the world of legal marijuana. Local police in Washington say more people under 21 that they pick up are carrying weed, Nordhorn said. Colorado has seen the same.
Science supports some of the concerns about youth diversion and access.
Studies show that marijuana can have a damaging affect on developing brains, usually until a person turns 25, said Dr. William Crano, a psychologist who’s research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Tobacco and alcohol also impair brain development, another conference speaker pointed out.
Still, contrary to the concerns of many critics of legalization, drug use among teens has dropped sharply, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. And marijuana use fell even more dramatically among teens in Colorado since legalization there.
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