On Monday the Denver City Council gave final approval to a ban on outdoor medical marijuana advertising.

The ordinance approved Monday prohibits most kinds of outdoor marijuana ads. Billboards, bus-stop placards and roadside sign spinners would all be banned.

Under the ordinance, medical marijuana businesses will still be allowed to advertise in venues such as newspapers, radio, and online, but they would have to include the disclaimer that marijuana products are for registered Colorado medical marijuana patients only.

The vote to pass the measure was unanimous.

Some medical marijuana advocates welcomed the ban, hoping that dispensaries will seem more neighborhood-friendly. ”We are glad to see that the ordinance passed,” Michael Elliott, Executive Director of the Medical Marijuana Industry, said after Monday’s vote. “We believe it appropriately balances the interests of the city and the medical marijuana community.”

In a world where candy-flavored vodka commercials can be seen by kids on basic cable in the middle of the day, it’s a stretch to say that families are affected much by a guy standing on the street with a sign. Advocates have to be careful not to fall into the trap of agreeing with their opponents that medical cannabis is something nefarious that needs to be hidden.

- Joe Klare

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