Boston Radio: Medical Pot Spots Air On 2 Stations

Medical marijuana is now being advertised on the Boston’s airwaves — with an advocacy group promoting pot on FM radio without the restrictions that dispensaries face — a development alarming some critics, according to the Boston Herald.

“Did you know you do not have to smoke medical marijuana to enjoy its medical benefits?” one of the radio ads by New England Grass Roots Institute in Quincy states. “This all-natural herb can be infused into almost any food or beverage. Used properly, medical marijuana adds to a healthy lifestyle. Medical Marijauna: Is it right for you? Talk to your doctor, then talk to us.”

State regulations bar dispensaries from making any advertising claims on “the safety or efficacy of marijuana unless supported by substantial evidence,” or “for any purpose other than to treat a debilitating medical condition.”

Institute founder Mike Fitzgerald said those rules don’t apply to him.

“We’re trailblazing,” said Fitzgerald, who said he has a background in construction but has worked in the pot “industry” for years as a grower and in pot dispensaries in California.

“We’re the first cannabis institute,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re really focused on people who have never seen cannabis before. Since the American Medical Association isn’t teaching anything, we thought we need to step in.”

Fitzgerald’s ads aired on WBOS-FM 92.9 FM and WBQT 96.5 FM in Boston this weekend. Efforts to reach the radio stations yesterday were unsuccessful.  Both are owned by Greater Media.

A consultant for dispensaries, Scott Hawkins, told the Herald that licensed dispensaries are wary of advertising because of the restrictions.

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