Anti-Marijuana Legalization Billboards Appear in Advance of Super Bowl

A group that opposes marijuana legalization has placed billboards around the New York-New Jersey area in advance of Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports. Earlier this week, a group advocating for legalization placed billboards on the highway leading to MetLife Stadium, where the game will be played.

The new anti-legalization billboards were placed by Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana). The chairman of the group, former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, said in a news release, “Marijuana use saps motivation, perseverance, and determination – the opposite of what it takes to win the Super Bowl. It is not a safe drug, especially for kids, and we need to reiterate the message to coaches, parents, players, and teens alike that it has no place in football.”

Earlier this week, five billboards with pro-marijuana messages appeared along New Jersey highways leading to MetLife Stadium. One of the billboards reads: “MARIJUANA: Safer than alcohol…and football.” Another says nearly as many people were arrested for marijuana in 2012 (749,824) as have attended the past 10 Super Bowls combined (751,203).

The signs were purchased by the Marijuana Policy Project. The group’s spokesman, Morgan Fox, said the billboards highlight what the group feels is the National Football League’s hypocrisy with its beer sponsors. “The same organization has no problem actively advertising a much more dangerous substance, particularly in a relatively family environment,” Fox said.