It's time this weekend for yet another Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and you know what that means — plenty of pro-marijuana advertising on tap for race fans. Say whaaaaaat?
It turns out that the Marijuana Policy Project, the nation's largest pro-marijuana legalization advocacy group, have purchased space to air a pro-weed ad more than a dozen times over the weekend on a big video screen near the entrance to the track. USA Today reports this is the first time a pro-marijuana legalization ad will appear so close to a major sporting event.
The owner of the track says that since it's not on their property, there's nothing they can do about it. It's near the entrance, not inside it.
Here's the full ad, which you'll see all weekend if you're going to the Speedway. The theme is that you should be allowed to smoke the reefer because you're an adult and marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.
But my thoughts are that it's too pandering to what this group thinks NASCAR fans are like — it's downright redneckish in a way, and it feels rather condescending. It might as well say, "Git you some marrawanner, it ain't gon' make you fat. It ain't even gon' make you beat your wife none. Hoo-yaw!"
Anyway, the Marijuana Policy Project is expecting the ad to net major exposure, since some 600,000 fans are expected to attend the race over the weekend. They made the ad using stock footage and a budget of $350, and it cost $2,200 to buy the space. That budget is certainly reflected in the production quality.
After that, who knows what's next? Maybe we can expect a "LEGALIZE IT" car to run in the Sprint Cup fairly soon.