Another good example:

Facebook Blocks Ads for Marijuana Legalization Campaign

Give to me a large fucking break.


quick excerpt:

For a typical college student, if it didn't happen on Facebook, it didn't happen. That gives the social networking behemoth an out-sized influence on the confines of political debate, if that debate falls outside what Facebook deems acceptable discourse.

Proponents of marijuana legalization, which is on the California ballot in 2010, have hit a Facebook wall in their effort to grow an online campaign to rethink the nation's pot laws. Facebook initially accepted ads from the group Just Say Now, running them from August 7 to August 16, generating 38 million impressions and helping the group's fan page grow to over 6,000 members. But then they were abruptly removed.

Andrew Noyes, a spokesman for Facebook, said that the problem was the pot leaf. "It would be fine to note that you were informed by Facebook that the image in question was no long[er] acceptable for use in Facebook ads. The image of a pot leaf is classified with all smoking products and therefore is not acceptable under our policies," he told the group in an email, which was provided to HuffPost.



A few things that bother me:

A) If you're serious about trying to get this shit legalized, STOP CALLING IT BY IT'S SLANG NAMES. Running around saying "pot" and "weed" just makes you look and sound like a fucking idiot. Use it's proper name, otherwise people immediately think "bunch of hippies want their POT" Now, it's possible the bozo writing the article is against it, and if he is, it makes me even angrier that he has to use these terms to demean it and make it sound like a "dirty" or "unacceptable" thing. I mean, really, WTF?!

B) This really gets my goat: "The image of a pot leaf is classified with all smoking products and therefore is not acceptable under our policies" Really? Are they fucking kidding me? "The image of a pot leaf is classified with ALL SMOKING PRODUCTS"?? I know there's a good analogy out there to prove how ridiculous this is, but right now I'm a bit too pissed off to think of one.. Not only that, what about those millions of patients who can't smoke, don't smoke, can't vape and don't vape... yet consume MMJ orally on a daily basis through various edibles and sublingually via tinctures, oils - hell, even w/lotions & salves?

It amazes me that people have no problem with something that is 5 times as imparing (alcohol) and something else that's 10x as deadly (tobbacco/nicotine) being legal, but goddamn, something that makes you want to stay at home, not be confrontational, and eat potato chips and watch cartoons is a such a horrible thing.

Matter of fact, now that I think about it, don't you think the government would welcome such a "taming" effect on the people?