Activists Release Comedic Video Series Urging Oregon Voters to Legalize Marijuana

A new get-out-the-vote video campaign has been launched by Drug Policy Action, a related organization of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. The series of videos, entitled "In the Time It Takes,” show how easy it is to vote and to support Measure 91, a measure on the November ballot that would regulate, legalize and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older.

In the videos, supporters of Measure 91, including actor Tate Donovan and comedian Rob Cantrell, demonstrate something that can be done in the same amount of time it takes to vote for measure 91 and mail a ballot in Oregon. From the mundane to the ridiculous, each “In the Time It Takes” video emphasizes the fact that it only takes a minute to fill out and mail a ballot. Drug Policy Alliance and the local Yes on 91 campaign are counting on this new initiative to rally younger voters to get out and vote.

This new video series, released today, was created by Moore + Associates, a strategic communications firm that specializes in using comedy for social change. In 2012 Moore + Associates was responsible for several of the most popular viral videos of the election, including Wake the F&%k Up!, which addressed voter apathy and starred Samuel L. Jackson, and Let My People Vote, which took on voter disenfranchisement and starred Sarah Silverman.

“For Measure 91 to win, 18-35 year-olds need to vote,” said Drug Policy Action Communications Director, Sharda Sekaran.  “Yet, that segment of the population is much less likely to vote in mid-term elections. We’re hoping these videos showing how unbelievably easy it is to vote motivates young voters to make their voices heard.”

Measure 91 has unprecedented support for a marijuana measure, with more endorsements than any past marijuana measure in Oregon, along with endorsements from national news outlets. According to Survey USA, as of October 23rd, 48% of Oregonians polled were in support of Measure 91 and only 37% were opposed.

In Oregon, the failed approach to marijuana has come at a steep cost:

• There have been at least 12,000 arrests and citations for marijuana each year across Oregon counties – and the number goes up every year. Over the last decade, police have arrested or cited over 99,000 people in Oregon for marijuana offenses. The millions of dollars this costs every year comes at a time when Oregon has untested rape kits, missing children and unsolved murders.
• The current failed approach to marijuana in Oregon supports a dangerous system of drug cartels and organized criminals that take in huge amounts of profits without paying a penny in taxes.
• Current marijuana policy in Oregon does nothing to protect children. Unlicensed sellers control kids’ access to marijuana, and they don’t ask for ID. And drug education and prevention programs are woefully underfunded.

Measure 91 was carefully crafted to create a tightly regulated system that controls marijuana’s production, sales and use. It requires that the revenues are placed in a special account that, by law, benefits schools, state and local law enforcement, drug prevention for youth, drug treatment and mental health programs – with full public transparency and subject to independent annual audits.

“Oregon’s Measure 91 is the new gold standard of marijuana reform laws and the number one priority for the marijuana reform movement,” said Sekaran. “Oregonians have expressed resounding support for it and now they need to take the last step by physically voting Yes on 91.”