The Drug Policy Action committee supporting California’s historic marijuana legalization initiative placed a historic three-page ad promoting passage of Proposition 19, wrapping the main section of today’s Los Angeles Times. According to the paper’s staff, this represents a first for a political campaign and is the largest, most prominent political ad in Times history.
“Southern California voters may well determine the outcome of this referendum on replacing decades of failed marijuana policy with common sense controls,” said Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Action. “This high-profile investment will reach hundreds of thousands of likely voters with Prop. 19’s promise to end the chaos caused by marijuana prohibition.”
The ad includes a full-page featuring former San Jose police chief Joe McNamara, star of the Prop. 19 campaign’s television commercial released last week (
http://yeson19.com/ad/), as well as key arguments in favor of the initiative (helping police focus on real crime, undermining violent drug cartels, and generating new revenue for California). The McNamara page ran by itself as an ad in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times.
Also included is a list of 75 high-profile supporters of Prop. 19, including the L.A. County Democratic Party, former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, SEIU of California, Susan Sarandon, the Republican Liberty Caucus, the California NAACP, Facebook billionaires Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz, California Council of Churches IMPACT, the Latino Voters League, the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, the National Black Police Association, Progressive Jewish Alliance, the California Libertarian Party, the National Latino Officers Association, Rosario Dawson, many former law enforcement professionals, and Sting.
This precedent-setting ad is a keystone of Drug Policy Action’s final push to secure victory for Prop. 19. The voter mobilization campaign includes substantial advertising on Southern California urban radio stations, tens of millions of online impressions on Google and Facebook, and a get-out-the-youth-vote ad running on Comedy Central’s Daily Show and Colbert Report.
Outlets (all Southern California): KPWR-FM 105.9 “Power 106,” KDAY-FM 93.5, KBUE-FM 105.5 “Que Buena,” KSSE-FM 107.1 “Super Estrella,” and KXOL-FM 96.3 “Latino 96.3.”
Outlets: Google and Facebook
Outlets: Playing through today on The Daily Show and Colbert Report on Comedy Central
A coalition of Pro-19 organizations assembled hundreds of supporters to gather in business attire at the Stewart/Colbert Rally last weekend.
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