Expect to see public service announcements on medical marijuana on Florida’s airwaves.
This month, Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) started running three different TV spots on medical marijuana and unlawful marijuana.
“The MMERI’s initial set of public service announcements (PSAs) began airing statewide on August 5, 2019, through a partnership with the Florida Association of Broadcasters. The PSAs are part of an ongoing campaign and are broadcasting in English and Spanish. They were produced in May 2019 by Salter Mitchell PR, which conducted market research and focus groups to refine the message,” FAMU noted.
MMERI Interim Executive Director Dr. Patricia Green-Powell weighed in on how her group is working to help educate Floridians on this new issue.
“When you are the first mover, you have the advantage of helping to define the industry, but this also has its drawbacks,” Green-Powell said this week. “MMERI’s job is to create the template, but that is also how FAMU began in 1887. The difference here is that we have some financial resources to help us create this initiative, which is expanding rapidly.
“We’re in it for the long haul because that is the nature of our commitment to the state and this initiative, which impacts communities of color. We understand the dire need to make sure that our minority communities are more informed, and are considered when medical marijuana policy is made and research is done,” she added.
Back in 2017, the Florida Legislature voted to use finds from medical marijuana sales to educate “minorities about marijuana for medical use and the impact of the unlawful use of marijuana on minority communities” which helped lead to the MMERI which wants “to build a repository of information for medical marijuana education and research and establish the university as a touchstone center for marijuana information; fill in the gaps in medical marijuana research particularly as it relates to diverse communities; and to inform public policy, in Florida and beyond, about the impact and issues presented by the developing marijuana industry.” Under that law, FAMU receives $10 for every $75 identification card purchased by Floridians legally permitted to buy medical marijuana.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
