By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- First they came for Joe Camel.
Now Arizona lawmakers are targeting Santa Claus.
No, they're not trying to erase him. But they don't want his image being used to pitch the sale of marijuana any more than the R.J. Reynolds mascot can promote smoking.
A new law approved by a wide margin and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs will put curbs on how those state-regulated establishments that sell marijuana can promote their products. The key, according to Rep. Selina Bliss, is to stop promoting the drug, which is legal for adults, to anyone younger than 21.
And that, said the Prescott Republican, means making sure that none of this advertising is targeted at those in that age group.
What does that mean?
Well, to start, it means no images or likenesses of toys, cartoons, "or animated or fictional characters, including Santa Claus,'' a point that did not go unnoticed that, perhaps to the dismay of children throughout the state that it put into Arizona law that Santa is not real.
Also off limits are putting names on products that resemble or imitate food or drink brands that are marketed to children. It also bans any sort of advertising in any medium that is targeting viewers.
But even when the advertiser says it is targeting adults, there are other restrictions.
Banned will be advertising at public airports. Also off limits will be public buses and trains, including the shelters set up at stops.
And even general advertising on web sites has its own special restrictions: It can exist -- but only if 73.6% of the audience is expected to be at least 21 years old.
That figure, Bliss said, is not random.
She said it is based on Census Bureau data which indicated that is the percentage of U.S population that is at least 21. More to the point, Bliss said that's the standard set by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States for determining whether advertising is targeted at adults or children.
That same figure shows up elsewhere in the new law: It bars marijuana retailers from sponsoring any sporting event unless at least 73.6% of the audience is expected to be at least 21.
Also outlawed will be billboards within 1,000 feet of any child care center, church, substance abuse recovery facility, public park or playground, or any public or private school that teaches children through the 12th grade.
"At the end of the day, this is about protecting our children,'' Bliss told colleagues. And she said this isn't just an academic issue to her.
"I, myself, as a nurse in the ER and the ICU have seen accidental poisonings by these agents causing a child to have to go on a ventilator,'' she said. "And for some, they lose vital organ function forever, if not death.''
During House testimony on the bill, Gary Kirkilas, a Phoenix pediatrician, said what is being proposed here is not really any different than when the Federal Trade Commission began to crack down on tobacco advertising that it concluded was clearly meant to entice children to smoke. Perhaps the most famous of these was the ruling ordering the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to stop using Joe Camel
Now, he told lawmakers, they need to set the same restrictions on the sale of marijuana.
The drug first became legal in Arizona after voters approved a medical marijuana program in 2010 allowing people with certain conditions and a doctor's recommendation to possess the drug. A decade later recreational use for those 21 and older became the law.
And with legalization came advertising.
Kirlilas came armed with pictures he took himself.
One was a photo from a billboard from a Phoenix area freeway "with a Santa Claus smoking a 'blunt,' '' he said.
"This happens every December,'' Kirlias said -- and not just by shops selling marijuana. He showed another picture of Santa holding a bong, captioned "Santa knows where to get the dopest gifts.''
"Adults can do what they want to do,'' Kirlias said. "But I have absolutely no patience for somebody targeting youth in their advertising.''
It actually took four tries to get lawmakers to approve the restrictions. Prior measures, going back to 2018, all faltered amid varying objections.
That almost happened this time with concerns about whether what Bliss had proposed actually would extend beyond marijuana dealers to those that sell hemp-infused items that have so little of the psychoactive drug as to not qualify as marijuana. Lawmakers agreed to exempt those products from the terms of the legislation.
Still, don't be surprised if Santa shows up on a billboard this Christmas touting his favorite THC gummies.
Lawmakers did agree to give businesses some time to come into compliance. So while the measure was approved and signed by the governor, it does not take effect until June 30, 2026.
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