Marijuana ads banned by the US Postal Service

Not all American states have legalized Marijuana so posting ads on the newspaper is causing inconsistencies between states and federal agencies, specifically the US Postal Service.

According to a report from Law Street Media, US Postal Service has made it illegal to mail materials such as newspapers that contain Marijuana ads. 

The issue recently came to light when democrats from Oregon asked the federal agency about its policy. It was after a memo was circulated in Portland, Oregon stating it was illegal for any media outlets to run media ads and distribute them through the federal-run postal service.

According to Willamette Week, Sen. Ron Wyden peppered the agency with questions asking where it found its authority to ban mailing said ads and whether the policy is the same for all 50 states.

"Unfortunately, the outdated federal approach to marijuana as described in the response from the Postal Service undermines and threatens news publications that choose to accept advertising from legal marijuana businesses in Oregon and other states where voters also have freely decided to legalize marijuana," said the Democrats.

As a result, the US Postal Service has now expanded its ban to all 50 states, not backing down from the pressing of the Democrats saying, "The ban hadn't been formalized nationwide. But it is now. To insure uniform understanding of this issue, we are issuing the following national policy that will apply to all districts," US Postal Service general counsel Thomas J. Marshall wrote.

The Washington Post writes that Marijuana is listed in the federal Controlled Substances Act like other drugs. That act prohibits advertisements in any form of publication including newspaper, magazine, or handbill.

However, the Postal Service has no authority to stop the mailers if their publications contain marijuana ads. What they can do is to send a report to the local U.S. Postal Inspection Service. By then it would be turned over to a law enforcement agency for prosecution. 

Tags

Marijuana ads, US Postal Service, Sen. Ron Wyden, Marijuana legalities

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