MARIJUANA SUPPORTERS CAN LEGALLY ADVERTISE

The free speech provisions of the Constitution give organizations that support the use of marijuana to advertise and make other public statements, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

An appellate panel upheld the right of an organization called Change the Climate Inc. to purchase advertising space on public transit in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rejected three advertisements designed to raise questions about marijuana laws on the stated ground that the ads would promote illegal use of marijuana among children.

But the appellate court found the MBTA's refusal was unreasonable and amounted to "viewpoint discrimination."

"This suspicion of viewpoint discrimination is deepened by the fact that the MBTA has run a number of ads promoting alcohol that are clearly more appealing to juveniles than the ads here," the court said.

Inf.: Change the Climate, Inc. v. MBTA, 03-2285, 1st Circ., Nov. 29. The circuit consists of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island.