Early Morning Open Thread: High Times
By Anne Laurie October 5th, 2010
The NYTimes solemnly reports that some of its struggling print competitors have found a “New Fuel… Medical Marijuana Ads“:
... A full-page ad in ReLeaf costs about $1,100, making the publication a cash cow for The Independent, which has used its bounty from medical marijuana ads this year to hire one new reporter and promote three staff members to full time. The paper has also added a column called CannaBiz that follows news from across the country; its author is the new marijuana beat writer…
“Medical marijuana has been a revenue blessing over and above what we anticipated,” said John Weiss, the founder and publisher of The Independent, a free weekly. “This wasn’t in our marketing plan a year ago, and now it is about 10 percent of our paper’s revenue.”
It is hard to measure what share of the overall market they account for, but ads for medical marijuana providers and the businesses that have sprouted up to service them — tax lawyers, real estate agents, security specialists — have bulked up papers in large metropolitan news markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver…
Alternative weeklies are not the only publications raking in medical marijuana lucre. Dailies like The Denver Post and The Bozeman Daily Chronicle in Montana are taking advantage of the boom and making no apologies.
“My point of view is, for the moment at least, it’s legal,” said Stephanie Pressly, publisher of The Daily Chronicle, adding that the paper generates about $7,500 a month in advertising from medical marijuana businesses. “The joke around here is that it’s a budding business.”
I wonder how much of that business advertising comes from pizza delivery places?
If anyone is looking for a reviewer, please get in touch.
October 5th, 2010 at 3:53 am
then print your rag on Canadian hemp. hmmph.
October 5th, 2010 at 3:55 am
Perfect excuse to post this:
Weed Card – Garfunkel & Oates
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October 5th, 2010 at 3:59 am
Here in Portland, there’s a pizza delivery place that will deliver pizza and various desserts. They’re only open from 10PM to 4AM. Pizza’s not very good, but who the fuck cares?
October 5th, 2010 at 4:21 am
Could it be that the NYT is getting a little nervous about charging access to their online newspaper? Could it be that the NYT sees selling Pot ads as a way of avoiding a pay wall? I’m a reader of the NYT, but not an avid reader and once the pay wall goes up, it’s bye bye New York Times.
October 5th, 2010 at 5:55 am
Richard Cohen seems to have discovered that extremist, dangerous political rhetoric is happening today, and that it is not something happening on ‘both sides’.
You know, the kind of rhetoric which led to students at Kent State getting shot down for protesting since they’d already been dehumanized as anti-communist traitors.
It’s on the right.
October 5th, 2010 at 6:05 am
I have my own personal grower so while I wouldn’t be in their target audience I do think this is great news. There is money to be made in the weed business and the government will benefit with more tax revenue because of it. While it’s not a financial cure-all, if we move from the courts and imprisonment to eventual full legalization then there will be many benefits in many different aspects of the economy.
– Reduced court and incarceration costs, fewer criminals. – Economic revenue generated by the market that will grow up around it. – Tax revenue this market will generate. – The numerous other uses for the pot plant (medicines, varnish, paper, hemp seed, hemp oil, hemp fiber and so on).
Plus much more.
The best part is that our society will probably take a well needed collective chill-pill once it’s legalized. Why?
Everyone will be too stoned to give a shit about anything but finding munchies.
October 5th, 2010 at 6:21 am
I work in advertising, and we have a client who runs ads in the 805 area code of Southern California. I swear, every other ad in all the local papers we run them in are for medical marijuana. It’s rather interesting to behold.
October 5th, 2010 at 6:38 am
First of all Cohen should be struck off the register for “fetishes about liberals…”. If he has to use the word fetish he should at least use it correctly.
Second of all let me get this straight: 1,100 dollars in advertising a year is ten percent of their advertising budget and also enables them to get/give more reporting on the subject of their choice? So if I and ten friends got together and decided to take some of the money we give to politicians and spend it on taking out, say, progressive leaning ads in a newspaper on a regular basis we could get favorable coverage? Hell, we could start our own newspaper? Or is it just possible because the newspaper also effectively can sell itself on the drug theme?
aimai
October 5th, 2010 at 7:18 am
Can I have that pizza with Sour Diesel on the side?
October 5th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Details as to why Prop 19 is not unconstitutional – under supremacy clause anyway.
October 6th, 2010 at 10:29 am