Collection: Billboards

< p> It is not uncommon these days to come across a billboard featuring either a medical or recreational marijuana advertisement. In the absence of federal regulations, states widely differ in advertising regulations for marijuana with many states permitting billboard advertising.

Billboards that advertise recreational use of cannabis fall into one of two categories: 1) the “Safer” campaign, which is characterized as sellers who brand cannabis as more safe than participating in other activities like consuming alcohol or 2) promote marijuana use through event promotions and slogans (e.g. “World Cannabis Week,” “Casual Cannabis,” “Help End Marijuana Prohibition” campaign). In general, these billboards are textually succinct, feature common symbols and imagery (e.g. universal cannabis symbol, beer bottle, snack items), and have an associated website listed on the bottom of their advertisement.

Advertisements for medical marijuana use tend to use phrases like “Marijuana Doctor” and “Patients Lives Matter.” These ads are often for local dispensaries and often include the dispensary’s phone number, address, or show simple directions to their store location.

Included in this theme are some anti-marijuana billboards. These are characterized in the following two ways: 1) a activist’s urge for citizens to vote for restrictive marijuana propositions (e.g., “Vote No on 205), and 2) fighting for child safety and against potential harms of marijuana consumption(e.g., PhoenixCenter, Consumeresponsibly.org,).