According to a 136-page book of regulations that Colorado released yesterday (pdf), the state plans to regulate marijuana ads much like alcohol ads:
Ads will be allowed on TV, newspapers, and radio as long as the advertisers have “reliable evidence” that fewer than 30
percent of the expected audience is under 21 years old. So the newspaper ad pictured at right would be OK. But public weed ads – like billboards and park benches, and other stuff visible from the street – will be prohibited. … It seems the same would go for this billboard outside of the Denver Broncos’ NFL stadium during a game last Thursday night. This more aggressively anti-alcohol, pro-weed message would be hard for anyone to miss. Note how the billboard uses classic beer-drinking imagery to pitch marijuana to a wider audience. Colorado’s advertising regulations mark the beginning of the creation of what will someday be tedious weed advertising tropes. What’s the marijuana version of the beer ad girl? Who will become the Most Interesting Man in the Weed World?
The Dish 