A billboard calling on the National Football League to stop punishing players for using marijuana was posted Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, in front of Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver.
A pro-marijuana advocacy group is looking to give a different meaning to the Denver football stadium’s informal “Mile High” moniker, which historically refers to its high altitude.
A giant billboard across from the stadium, which was posted in time for Thursday evening’s season opener, calls on the NFL to end its harsh punishment for players who use marijuana. The Marijuana Policy Project paid for the 48-foot sign, just a block away from the stadium, which shows a football leaning against a glass of beer.
Its bold text sends a stern message to the NFL: “Stop Driving Players to Drink.” It comes amid a spate of drunk-driving arrests in the off-season. And Colorado fans have been directly impacted by the league’s drug policies: Broncos linebacker Von Miller must sit out the first six games of the season for violating the substance-abuse policy. Though Miller has tested positive for marijuana use in the past, he denies currently using it.
“A Safer Choice Is Now Legal (Here),” reads the billboard, which comes less than a year after Colorado voted to legalize marijuana use for adults over 21, one of just two states to do so.