{"id":7207,"date":"2026-08-23T08:35:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7207"},"modified":"2026-08-23T08:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T08:35:33","slug":"albanys-pot-pushers-come-for-our-kids-in-an-ad-campaign-filled-with-deceit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7207","title":{"rendered":"Albany’s pot pushers come for our kids \u2014 in an ad campaign filled with deceit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Empire State is now in the business of spending your money to sell weed to teens.<\/p>\n

Read more Staten Island teen issues Instagram plea to Mamdani for OMNY cards to cover express buses<\/a><\/p>\n

For proof, look no further than the Office of Cannabis Management\u2019s new campaign, \u201cCannabis Honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The OCM runs New York\u2019s legal marijuana program, and this latest initiative went live in July.<\/p>\n

One of its ads, which I spotted on the R train this week, shows a dreamy-eyed teenager (or a model who looks like one) staring at her phone, along with the helpful tagline MIXING WEED AND ALCOHOL IS RISKIER.<\/p>\n

It may as well be: STICK TO WEED, KID, AND YOU\u2019LL BE FINE.<\/p>\n

Marijuana advertising aimed at anyone under 21 is illegal under state law; such ads are specifically banned from public transit.<\/p>\n

OCM sure seems<\/em> like it\u2019s breaking the law.<\/p>\n

An eagle-eyed X user spotted an even worse subway ad on Tuesday, featuring a photo of another teen and his apparent mom.<\/p>\n

This one proclaims CANNABIS IS LEGAL FOR ADULTS 21+ IN NEW YORK STATE.<\/p>\n

The inherent takeaway: You can\u2019t buy it yourself yet, so<\/em> get your parents to cop some sour for you at the dispensary.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imagine the state Liquor Authority running a similar ad for vodka \u2014 or the Department of Taxation and Finance, which handles cigarette excises, doing one for Kools.<\/p>\n

Remember: These are taxpayer-funded ads from a state agency, normalizing weed use for literal kids.<\/p>\n

But the \u201cCannabis Honestly\u201d website, the focal point of the campaign, makes the ads themselves look almost benign.<\/p>\n

The section of the site aimed at parents contains such howlers as: \u201cStore cannabis like you would other medications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yikes.<\/p>\n

Raw marijuana is not and can never be a medicine, no matter how many states declare it one by political fiat.<\/p>\n

It has no accepted medical use; it cannot be prescribed.<\/p>\n

Study after study shows that it fails to treat the conditions doctors \u201crecommend\u201d it for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As leading marijuana policy expert Kevin Sabet recently noted in STAT News, an April systematic review in The Lancet Psychiatry found \u201cno evidence any form of cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that \u201cevidence from randomized clinical trials does not support the use of cannabis or cannabinoids for most conditions for which it is promoted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Gavin Newsom signs controversial \u2018Stop Nick Shirley Act\u2019 into law<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet OCM\u2019s official messaging slyly frames it as a \u201cmedication\u201d like any other.<\/p>\n

The site advises parents to do \u201crisk reduction coaching\u201d with lines like, \u201cI\u2019d like to start with understanding what you enjoy about using weed.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u201cAvoid mixing with alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u201cBe aware of potency \u2014 stronger products increase risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Huh? Such comments flash a clear green light for teen drug use \u2014 increasing<\/em> the risk that they\u2019ll go right ahead.<\/p>\n

For kids, it\u2019s the same soft soap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeed can change how you think and feel in the moment,\u201d the website explains soothingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can make you feel anxious, panicked, or paranoid. It can even make anxiety or depression feel worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

This gentle-parent pablum is how New York state speaks about a drug linked to a more than double<\/em> risk of later-in-life psychotic disorders following adolescent use, per a massive JAMA Health Forum study from February.<\/p>\n

A drug linked to a similar risk for bipolar disorders and elevated risks for depression and anxiety, according to that same study.<\/p>\n

A drug that decades of Danish data show may drive as much as 20% of psychosis among young men.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s website also \u2014 and insanely \u2014 advises \u201cwaiting to use cannabis\u201d as one way teens could mediate the danger (though it does concede that \u201cavoiding higher-THC products\u201d altogether might be a good idea).\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s essentially saying: \u201cJust tough it out till you\u2019re 21, junior, then you\u2019re golden!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, the site mentions in passing risks like psychosis, depression and even cannabis hyperemesis syndrome \u2014 uncontrollable vomiting caused by weed use that can require hospitalization.<\/p>\n

But consider the bright little disclaimer it offers about CHS in bold: \u201cNot everyone who uses cannabis regularly will develop\u201d the condition.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

So go ahead and roll the dice.<\/p>\n

The site\u2019s pro-drug content goes on and on.<\/p>\n

But the worst failure of \u201cCannabis Honestly\u201d may be that it makes no real effort to present \u2014 or even meaningfully acknowledge \u2014 the mountains of hard data showing specifically how weed destroys physical and mental health.<\/p>\n

Drug-abuse prevention absolutely needs to start with kids.<\/p>\n

An effective campaign, however, requires messaging that communicates urgency without making teens too ashamed to reach out \u2014 not a soft focus on the risks and an implication that the drug can somehow ever be safe to use.<\/p>\n

Read more Ohio doctor who studied \u2018homicidal adolescent\u2019 gunned down in scheme hatched by teen daughter after argument<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis Honestly\u201d is anything but.<\/p>\n

Instead, it\u2019s little more than a taxpayer-funded ad for corporate marijuana.<\/p>\n

Sam Munson\u2019s most recent novel is \u201cThe Sofa\u201d (2025).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York State is now in the business of spending your money to sell weed to teens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nAlbany's pot pushers come for our kids \u2014 in an ad campaign filled with deceit - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7207\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Albany's pot pushers come for our kids \u2014 in an ad campaign filled with deceit - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New York State is now in the business of spending your money to sell weed to teens.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7207\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-23T08:35:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Albany’s pot pushers come for our kids \u2014 in an ad campaign filled with deceit\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-23T08:35:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207\"},\"wordCount\":854,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/4faa649894fc096e03d7ee52d30e1ca8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=7207\",\"name\":\"Albany's pot pushers come for our kids \u2014 in an ad campaign filled with deceit - 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