Marijuana: Pat Robertson asks for Amendment 64 billboard featuring him to come down
Last week, we told you about a Grand Junction billboard in support of Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, featuring televangelist Pat Robertson, who'd made public statements in support of the measure. Nonetheless, one of Robertson's reps asked that the billboard come down -- and it has.
Big pic below.
Here's a look at the full image:
As we reported in March, Robertson more or less endorsed Amendment 64 in an interview with the New York Times. "I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol," he said, adding, "If people can go into a liquor store and buy a bottle of alcohol and drink it at home legally, then why do we say that the use of this other substance is somehow criminal?"
Additionally, Robertson informed the Times that he "absolutely" supports the Colorado ballot measure, as well as a similar one in Washington state.
Robertson noted that he would not campaign for the initiatives, saying, presumably with a straight face, "I'm not a crusader." But based on his published statements, the Amendment 64 campaign went forward with the billboard anyhow.
Then, last Thursday, act proponent Mason Tvert says he was contacted via e-mail by a Robertson representative, who "suggested that [Robertson] did not specifically endorse this initiative" and hadn't actually read its featured language. 
The first pro-Amendment 64 billboard to appear in Denver, near Mile High Stadium.
In a reply, Tvert wrote that he would gladly provide a copy of Amendment 64 -- an offer Robertson's rep has not yet accepted -- even as he defended the billboard. "We didn't convey anything other than what he said in the nation's largest newspaper," Tvert maintains. "He's a public figure and it was a public statement."
Even so, Tvert continues, "we never meant to disrespect Mr. Robertson -- so we were happy to take the billboard down at his request."
Doing so was simple, since the billboard in question is electronic. Right now, Tvert says no message is being shared on it, but members of the campaign hope to decide what to use as a replacement in the coming days.
Page down to continue reading about the Pat Robertson billboard.
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