No on 2, the opposition campaign for Florida’s proposal to allow medical marijuana, recently released a 30 second ad claiming that budtenders are “dope dealers with store fronts.” The spot attempts to draw distinctions between the qualifications of pharmacists and budtenders. The budtenders shown, who just so happen to be of minority decent, are scorned for having “no clinical experience” and “no medical training.”
However, the ad does claim that budtenders “know a lot about pot firsthand.” Which, in my opinion, is plenty good enough for me. I’d much rather have my budtender tell me that the new Tiger’s Milk strain helped his nausea, which then allowed her to eat a whole tub of Häagen-Dazs and get sick again. Better than a pharmacist tell me to take two puffs a day every four hours for two weeks.
The 30 second spot can be watched here:
Despite the opposition, recent polls in Florida show that 69% of the public is in favor of passing the measure. A similar push for medical marijuana failed in 2014, but advocates point to the progress since, with 23 states and D.C. now having medical marijuana access, and claim momentum is on their side.
For those looking to help the fight against these negative stereotypes of cannabis being spread, you can donate to the Yes for 2 campaign here.
