420 Campaign

Commenting on news stories is an effective way of promoting interest in marijuana’s legalization.

Media coverage of any issue or story thrives on the level of interest it creates. The more feedback a story receives the more interest a media outlet will devote to the story.

Most news articles on the internet also provide opportunities for readers to comment. All they require is a basic registration process, civility, respect for differences of opinion, and a lack of foul language.

Marijuana is a frequent topic in the news these days. In fact, dozens of new articles on marijuana appear on the Web every hour, throughout the country. Some of these articles report on local arrests. Other articles report on new trends, statistics, or studies. Of greater interest are articles that report on legalization-related developments. Every one presents an opportunity for readers (and legalization supporter) to comment on both the content of the article and the topic of legalization.

The more comments articles on marijuana receive the greater interest the media will have in the marijuana legalization issue. As more and more positive comments on marijuana legalization appear from readers, the media will devote more and more coverage to marijuana legalization issues. This is a win-win opportunity for supporters of legalization. Anything positive about legalization will benefit from expressions of public support. Anything negative about legalization, and/or about marijuana, can be balanced or challenged by positive comments. From the media’s point of view the level of feedback they observe is just as important as how it breaks down in terms of support or concern about marijuana and its related issues.

One of the best ways to monitor news about marijuana (aside from our own coverage of the issue here at HIGH TIMES) is to use the search engine at Google News.

The Google search engine will provide access to thousands of marijuana-related articles. Many of them are run-of-the-mill stories about arrests and/or local law enforcement campaigns. Throughout the summer, for example, there will be articles about local marijuana eradication efforts. Frequently local media will run a story about a local arrest, such as “Man charged with marijuana cultivation” or “Sibling fight results in police finding 57 marijuana plants.” Certainly stories about medical marijuana, articles focused on specific legalization issues, and articles in the national media (such as the Washington Post’s article on marijuana in northern California (see Suddenly righteous dudes) are the most obvious targets for pro-legalization comments. However legalization supporters should comment on any and every article about their local area, no matter how mundane or common the topic or reported event.

Comments should be positive, upbeat, and informed. They should not be used to express bitterness about marijuana laws and/or drug enforcement. No matter how well-founded, negative comments do not attract people to the issue.

Another good tactic is to respond to the comments of other readers. Adding factual material in support of a prior comment is a good approach, just as is providing facts that contradict a critical comment. Stating opinions about legalization is also a valuable exercise.

This is a potentially valuable and important activity, especially as more and more supporters of legalization participate. Committed advocates of reform can have an immense and influential impact on the issue by spending just 15 minutes once a week finding a marijuana article of interest and posting comments online. Actually, it can be a lot of fun. It really is satisfying to express yourself on the issues, but of greater importance is that it is really satisfying to be influential. This is a great way to participate in and advance the national debate over marijuana legalization because the more impact you have over local and national news coverage, the more impact you can have on the opinions and positions of local and national political leaders.

Engaging the media by providing feedback on marijuana-related news articles provides great opportunities for reformers. It only takes a few minutes, it helps spread the word about reform, and it sends a positive message that public support for marijuana’s legalization is growing.