Maureen Dowd has no problem with a pro-pot ad campaign using her likeness to stress the importance of enjoying edible cannabis responsibly.
US News caught up with Dowd on Wednesday, after The Marijuana Policy Project’s unveiled a new billboard ad, which featured a redhead in a hotel room that strongly echoed the imagery of Dowd’s New York Times column about her bad trip on marijuana-fused chocolate.
“I love it. I’m going to make it my Christmas card,” Dowd said. “And I’m glad Colorado and Washington state implemented emergency rules for better warnings and portion control for edibles. They needed some fine-tuning for tyros.”
The MPP ad campaign addresses Dowd’s bad trip both visually and in the text. “Don’t let a candy bar ruin your vacation,” it reads. “With edibles, start low and go slow.”
In a column in June, Dowd copped to hastily consuming about a quarter of a candy bar laced with pot while reporting on the “social revolution” in Colorado following the legalization of the drug in that state. The results were not enjoyable.
“I strained to remember where I was or even what I was wearing, touching my green corduroy jeans and staring at the exposed-brick wall,” Dowd wrote at the time. “As my paranoia deepened, I became convinced that I had died and no one was telling me.”
Update: Dowd’s office clarified Thursday that she consumed only a quarter, rather than a half, of the candy bar.