| LUCID Public Relations |
| Montel Williams supports Issue 5, an initiative on the November 6 general election ballot which would legalize medical marijuana in Arkansas |
The medical marijuana battle is heating up in Arkansas, with less than three weeks to go until the general election. A statewide medical marijuana ballot initiative, Issues 5, appears on the November 6 ballot in Arkansas.
An anti-medical marijuana group called the “Arkansas Family Council” has been disseminating misinformation in the state, seeming to believe that since Arkansas is located in the Deep South, nobody will call them on their b.s. Wrong, Arkansas Family Council!
Former talk show host Montel Williams, through his publicist, on Thursday decried a new ad from the Council which is tainted with racist stereotypes.
“This morning we became aware of a TV ad the Arkansas Family Council has put on YouTube, and apparently made a very small ad buy for, in opposition to Issue 5 that features several actors,” said Williams’ publicist, Jonathan Franks. “The one African-American actor was depicted as a criminal drug dealer behind a table with guns.
“This imagery has no place in the debate on medical cannabis and is clearly racist, and other claims made are as offensive,” Franks said. “We call on them to pull it, rather than attempt to justify it. If they won’t, stations should refuse to air it
“This debate is about the relief of suffering,” Franks rightly said. “We shouldn’t forget that.”