WASHINGTON - June 30 - A potentially controversial new ad campaign from the Marijuana Policy Project names prominent public officials, including President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Vice President Al Gore, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as having admitted to using marijuana. The ad then asks, "Is it fair to arrest three quarters of a million people a year for doing what presidents and a Supreme Court justice have done?"

The spot will hit the airwaves on July 3 on 141 radio stations nationwide, and will air through the summer during Jim Hightower’s syndicated “Common Sense Commentary,” carried by Air America and other stations, as well as the “Downsize DC” radio show. To listen to the advertisement, click the “Hear It Now” button above, or contact MPP Assistant Director of Communications Rebecca Greenberg at 202-462-5747 ex. 115.

“Nearly 100 million Americans, including the politicians named in the ad, have used marijuana -- and the vast majority have gone on to lead successful lives,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. “Our government has spent hundreds of millions of tax dollars on ads claiming that the use of marijuana leads to addiction, illness, and destruction, but for the overwhelming majority of responsible, adult marijuana users -- just as for responsible, adult alcohol users -- that simply isn't true.

"Marijuana prohibition has completely failed to stop marijuana use, while giving unregulated criminals a monopoly on the marijuana market," Kampia continued. "Instead of continuing our failed system of marijuana prohibition, it’s time to consider a new system of regulation and control that would generate tax revenues and take marijuana out of the criminal market.”

Alcohol and tobacco, the two most commonly abused drugs in the U.S., have both been successfully taxed and regulated. Research shows that marijuana is safer than both of these drugs.

With more than 20,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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