Pubdate: Sun, 25 Mar 2007 Source: Concord Monitor (NH) Column: Capital Beat Copyright: 2007 Monitor Publishing Company Contact: http://www.concordmonitor.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/767 Author: Sarah Liebowitz and Eric Moskowitz, Monitor Staff Cited: WKXL http://www.wkxl1450.com/dynamickxl/index.php?option=com_contact&task=view&contact_id=1&Itemid=61 Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) OFF THE AIR Supporters of a bill that would allow marijuana use for medical purposes had a bad week. A House committee recommended (12-7) that the full House reject the bill. Also, WKXL in Concord refused to run an advertisement designed to drum up support for the bill, which the full House will debate this week. The advertisement was planned by the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based advocacy group. WKXL's owner, former U.S. senator Gordon Humphrey, said he was concerned that the message - that people suffering from painful diseases should be able to use marijuana to allay their pain - could be misconstrued by young people. "At various times, we have young people listening, so that's no lottery ads, no beer ads," said Humphrey, who has refused to run advertisements for the state lottery and a beer distributor before. Humphrey, a Republican, said the station is otherwise apolitical. "We decline very few ads," he said. "I'm not in the business of saying no to the business." Local supporters of the bill cried foul. "Clearly, Mr. Humphrey is using his position as a media gatekeeper to manipulate the will of New Hampshire voters," said Stuart Cooper of the New Hampshire Marijuana Policy Initiative in a press release. The spot, titled, "Trying to Stay Alive Shouldn't be a Crime," is running on Manchester and Portsmouth stations, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake