Sign the petition to legalize marijuana in Iowa: https://www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com/
I was sort of hurt by a pair of media headlines from mainstream Iowa media organizations who covered a really well done effort by the college chapter at Iowa State University NORML. These kids put up their own money to purchase a billboard in downtown Des Moines, and, I don’t think they got the credit they were quite due. Then again, I am biased.
To me, after careful thought and many hours editing this post, I wanted to make a comment about disappointing coverage from Iowa media. This past month seemed to showcase a poor choice of words by two mainstream Iowa media outlets, KCRG, and Our Quad Cities. As the activist and founder of this now well-known Iowa alt-news media outlet WeedPress, which I originally founded in 2010 to more or less keep thoughts, notes and comments on our progress inevitably re-legalizing marijuana, I want to point something out, having paid attention to and interpreted Iowa media coverage for over a decade now. The following is my perspective and editorializing.
Before continuing, can you sign the petition this article is all about? Click the link below.
Sign the petition to legalize marijuana: https://www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com/
This isn’t my first time commenting on something like this so first comes brief housekeeping. I’m not ascribing any malevelont intent per se to these two news articles from Iowa mainstream media sources. I will list my complaint concerning the use of the words “pushing” and “push” in their headlines and move on.
Next time Iowa cannabis advocates buy a billboard, please do not describe the effort as an attempt to “push” the issue. The drug war has failed. The only ones “pushing” anything are the bad guy prohibitionists, specifically the Republican Party and the outdated leadership of the police. Describing heroic college students efforts to end civil liberties violations that accompany the drug war as “pushing” serves effectively, regardless of intent, to disarm and downplay the effects the drug war has had on the poor, the sick, and the minority communities, throughout Iowa.
“Push” or “pushing” for marijuana in headlines reminds me of the Reagan era. Article headlines like these, at least to me, implies propaganda aimed at youth, and this word “pushing” used by KCRG and Our Quad Cities sounds a bit off. I’m not certain reporters who wrote this this way are aware of this. It’s likely they were too busy to take the time to write a decent article or were instructed by editors to fulfill political considerations rather than just covering the story objectively.
Two alternative media outlets, Celeb Stoner did an ok job of covering the Des Moines marijuana billboard purchased by Iowa marijuana activists and so did Ganjapreneur. The marijuana billboard in question was put up near the Des Moines Capitol and visible to I-235 drivers which urges Iowans to sign a petition to legalize marijuana and directs viewers to the website https://www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com/.
Celeb Stoner’s Doug McVay writes,
“Regarding the editorial, Iowa State University NORML rep Joshua Montgomery, based in Ames, sent a statement to CelebStoner:“The Des Moines Register editorial is a breath of sensibility for cannabis law reform in a stagnant Iowan political climate. We’re excited to see the Register lay out most of the best arguments in favor of Iowa marijuana legalization… The editorial speaks loudly and clearly for the majority of Iowans regarding necessary Iowa marijuana law reform.”
NORML ISU is running a legislative letter-writing campaign to collect signatures from Iowa residents who support legalization that will be presented to all Iowa state legislators at the capitol in Des Moines. They currently have more than 5,000 signatures.
In August, the group promoted the “Legalize It” letter campaign with a billboard on Rt. 6 in Des Moines.”
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/marijuana-news/2021/09/29/iowa-des-moines-register-legalize-marijuana-editorial/
If on the off chance any Iowa media reporters who are politically against legalizing marijuana don’t want to talk about regulating marijuana appropriately — in spite of the fact that our current regulatory schemes in Iowa are far from appropriate, unless you sell drugs — these reporters should be more forthcoming in their biases. If reporters hate or oppose the legalization of marijuana, and don’t want it talked about, then say so. Plenty of censorship is going round right now. Burying marijuana advocacy efforts that deserve more broad attention isn’t unusual — really, it’s been the status quo in Iowa’s news media for decades, exceptions notwithstanding. But, if you do want to cover the marijuana issue effectively, and also do it justice, please in the future don’t do lazy negative word play by choosing words like “pushing.” Maybe try promoting, or advancing instead.
Iowa has an incarceration crisis of global proportions | The Gazette
Head Of Federal Drug Agency Says It’s Time To Consider Decriminalization | Marijuana Moment
WOI 5 and the Iowa State Daily did a much better job in their coverage. Meanwhile, Governor Reynolds has refused to speak with marijuana patients or consider marijuana reasonably. Instead of articulating a cogent argument her last known statement was something along the lines of “whoops, I got drunk driving once so that means no weed for you,” which seems less about the Governor’s heartfelt belief that she is protecting people from a dangerous drug, and more about her political considerations. Her drunk driving record needs to be addressed in the best light so she can run for re-election or get a federal appointment with the next GOP administration, and it’s likely she was told long ago by consultants pollsters or handlers to take a hard line on drugs and non-violent crime so as to show remorse for a mistake she made in her past.
Trying to get through to elected officials in Iowa is not made easier when Iowa media outlets, accuse the good guys in this discussion of “pushing” marijuana. Can we just please get an honest airing of grievances concerning civil rights abuses of Iowa marijuana patients, Our Quad Cities? We have the meritorious arguments and solutions for all considerations and should be afforded respect for our due diligence here instead of being framed in a negative light.
Sign the petition to legalize marijuana: https://www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com/
As a patient refugee in South Dakota currently and longtime advocate I can see why “recreational” legalization of marijuana helps severely ill patients, patients whose state medical marijuana programs are entirely deficient, like Iowa’s. Full legalization increases access for patients and reduces cost for patients while preventing and lowering illegal access to marijuana, and the profitability of selling marijuana on the black market. Currently, Iowa’s medical marijuana program costs 4 times as much as South Dakota’s. That’s Iowa lawmakers fault — and more expansive marijuana laws would help Iowa patients save thousands of dollars a year.
Some news reporters throughout Iowa who have provided more honest coverage, have family members, who need marijuana, for various reasons. These are seriously sick people. I didn’t myself first realize how much suffering was being allowed by our lawmakers due to an outdated view on marijuana’s capabilities until I started advocating and people shared their stories. Critically ill and real life patients not being served by Iowa’s overly restrictive medical marijuana program deserve to have the discussion broadened. Anyone trying to legalize marijuana in Iowa is helping patients, and legalization is going to happen, in spite of bad faith efforts by leadership throughout the state. Framing legalization groups efforts as “pushing” is not the best use of words for headlines. As a concerned citizen I would encourage reporters working on Iowa marijuana news to take into account how their words can affect the ongoing discussion.
Sign the petition to legalize marijuana in Iowa: https://www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com/
The top federal drug policy official at NIDA has recently tipped her well-informed hat to marijuana advocates. Turns out, we told you so! We were right this whole time. We are not “pushing.” Marijuana legalization advocates in Iowa are not “pushing” marijuana — they are trying to end a war on our fellow students, our grandparents, and our future children that has failed miserably, a war that has enriched and politically empowered criminal elements of society.
Sign the petition to legalize marijuana in Iowa: https://www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com/
I am posting mainstream media coverage below for the purpose of expediting WeedPress citation of these articles in this post and for future reference. I’m also downloading the articles in case they aren’t up in a couple of years. This marijuana billboard is the first time a marijuana billboard was brought in Iowa discussing recreational regulation of marijuana. It also gives Iowans a chance to do something to help legalize marijuana by going to www.legalizeiowaletter2021.com to sign their support, support which will be shown to elected officials. I am hopeful the billboard will garner 10,000 of signatures, which at last count was already over 3,700. These 10,000 signatures will be used to contact every single Iowa Senator and House Representative this next year to push elevate and broaden the discussion about why marijuana prohibition is evil.
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Thanks for reading!
Links of mainstream coverage:
WOI 5: Iowa State University students seek to legalize marijuana
https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/local-politics/iowa-state-university-student-norml-organization-aiming-to-legalize-marijuana-i235-billboard-sign/524-b10bdc79-77a2-4bc8-b097-8ec9bce4250b
Great coverage by WOI! They also did video that was uploaded to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goNlUrTSX4s
Iowa State Daily: Iowa State club collecting signatures to legalize marijuana
This was easily really well done. No nonsense about “pushing” in the headline and good details to help readers understand what’s up.
Our Quad Cities: Billboard in Iowa pushing to legalize weed
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/billboard-in-iowa-pushing-to-legalize-weed/
This above Our Quad Cities post was particularly irksome, as it incorrectly suggested that marijuana advocates were endorsing illegal activity then immediately used an intimidating statement from the Davenport police about how they arrest marijuana users. The defeated Iowa police — who have, according to reports received here at WeedPress, in small towns used intimidation against Iowa marijuana advocates who don’t use marijuana and are law abiding to harass and intimidate advocates into silence or fleeing the town — are an evil laughingstock in this intellectual discussion as marijuana is legalized rapidly around the country, even in the most conservative states. Iowa police have lost this war around marijuana in Iowa but refuse to give it up, preferring to either ignore helping craft good and inevitable policy or criticizing and delaying inevitable legalization while simultaneously relying on bullying and intimidation to silence any solutions being offered. These cops should be enforcing laws, not writing them. And they should stop being allowed to intimidate advocates who don’t use marijuana, cough cough, Muscatine police, cough cough. The police have too much power in Iowa, and are the absolute wrong solution to the problem of how to protect society from the harms of drugs. Iowa police also allegedly secretly lobbied lawmakers in the middle of the night during during the 2017 legislative session when a medical marijuana bill was passed at 6 am. Iowa police were instructed to pressure lawmakers against marijuana being expanded for medical use so they could continue being on the wrong side of a war where they are absolutely behaving like the bad guys. Iowa police leadership’s unconscionable position and tactics are currently the exact opposite of the position held by the top federal drug policy official, Nora Volkow. Sit down. This discussion is long over. Help us implement the future, or remain the bad guys, cops. And media, please stop elevating the bad guys. Two thumbs down.
WHO 1040 Radio: Iowa State University Students Petition to Legalize Marijuana in Iowa
Short, forgettable blurb. Not much details, and wrong about the count on signatures.
KCRG: Iowa State University Students push to legalize marijuana https://www.kcrg.com/2021/08/19/iowa-state-university-students-push-legalize-marijuana/
This was just a really short article by KCRG. Likely was done in a hurry, and lacks easily included details, ie instead of the actual LegalizeIowaLetter2021.com website it just says “a website.” Not very helpful, and the headline is more important, as 60% of social media users only read the headline, not the articles. Source for this claim is available on the internet at https://www.thedistinguishedwriter.com/with-60-percent-of-social-media-users-sharing-without-reading-what-does-that-mean-for-your-content/
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 
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