Press Release – October 9, 2024
For Immediate Release
October 9, 2024
Contact:
Matthew Schweich
South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws
Executive Director
(605) 610-8396
info@southdakotamarijuana.org
PRESS RELEASE:
South Dakota Legalization Campaign Calls Upon Opponents to Take Down “Demonstrably False and Deceptive” Advertisement
Campaign also warns South Dakota television stations that running the advertisement would violate FCC rules
Sioux Falls, SD – Today, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (“SDBML”), which is working to pass Initiated Measure 29 to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older in South Dakota, held a press conference at its Sioux Falls headquarters.
SDBML executive director Matthew Schweich called upon opponents of Initiated Measure 29 to take down a demonstrably false and deceptive advertisement that is running on Facebook and Hulu and to refrain from any attempt to run the advertisement on television. Schweich stated:
“Today, I am calling upon our opponents to take down a political ad because it is demonstrably false and deceptive. This ad in question states: ‘Measure 29 doesn’t just legalize marijuana.’ This statement is made on the screen in large text. It is included in the voiceover. The question of what Measure 29 legalizes is not a matter of opinion. It is crystal clear, based on the text of the initiative, that Measure 29 only legalizes marijuana and marijuana-related products.”
Screenshots from the ad:
Furthermore, Schweich issued a warning to South Dakota media outlets to reject the advertisement if there is an attempt to run it as a television commercial on the basis that doing so would violate Federal Communication Commission rules:
“I’m here to warn South Dakota television stations that if they run this ad, then they will be receiving a letter from me demanding it be taken down. That letter will make clear that running a deceptive ad of this nature is a violation of FCC standards.”
Schweich cited FCC rules, which state:
“Broadcasters are responsible for selecting the broadcast material that airs on their stations, including advertisements. The FCC expects broadcasters to be responsible to the community they serve and act with reasonable care to ensure that advertisements aired on their stations are not false or misleading.”
The campaign also released a new report titled “IM-29 Myth-Busters: Challenging the Dishonesty and Deception of South Dakota Prohibitionists” that refutes unsubstantiated, false, or misleading claims made by prohibitionists at public forums, online, and in campaign literature.
South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws is not alone in questioning the honesty of the anti-Initiated Measure 29 campaign. A recent op-ed by Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck includes the line: “[Protecting South Dakota Kids leader Jim Kinyon] talked nuns out of their money, but used it for another purpose.”
Schweich noted that he was successful in getting television stations to take down demonstrably false and misleading TV commercials during a previous legalization ballot initiative campaign in Michigan in 2018.
# # #
