Now that legalizing the weed is the new thing, it did not take long for business to jump on the trend. Spirit Airlines is now offering Get Mile High fares to Colorado.
Spirit Airlines is known for jumping into the political debate with it’s irreverent advertising and it certainly wasn’t going to let a golden opportunity like marijuana legalization in Colorado slip by.
“The no smoking sign is off,” an advertisement on the airline’s website reads. “Get Mile High with $10 off your next flight. Fares so low they’re barely legal in some states.”
On the offer’s landing page, Spirit says, “If you want to make a beeline for Colorado right now, we don’t blame you — but we’re up to take you to plenty of chill destinations. … Book today … and be sure to pack some munchies.”
Colorado citizens who are 21 and older are now permitted to purchase recreational marijuana.
Spirit has been known to push the envelope with some of its ads. In 2011, Spirit capitalized on the Anthony Weiner Twitter photo scandal by offering “The Weiner Sale: With Fares Too HARD To Resist.”
In 2012, the airline capitalized on the U.S. Secret Service prostitution scandal by offering “More Bang for your Buck” for flights to Cartagena, Colombia.
This was entirely predictable. Once you legalize weed, there is money to be made in selling weed. There is money in expanding the market for it and that means normalizing the selling and consumption of it. The vast commercial machine used to sell everything from airplanes to pencils will swing into motion to spread the use of marijuana. That is the hidden value of prohibition. It prevents the massive marketing machine that is American commerce from promoting the thing that is actively prohibited.
While you may not care about this, lots of middle class parents do care. They will begin agitating for new rules to end the “marketing of weed to their kids.” A politician, looking for an angle, will propose rules to curb this stuff. No one will dare fight it because no one wants to be seen as in favor of selling weed to kids. Before long, we end up with what we see with cigarettes or worse. I doubt we see a rollback on the legalization process, but the rules on weed will make the cigarette laws look mild by comparison.
