Crew members Andrew Willey, right, and Brian Houchin at Proctor Productions, Inc. in Denver finish assembling large cages on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, for a Colorado-sponsored campaign discouraging teen marijuana use. (Kathryn Scott Osler, Denver Post)

Colorado’s new $6M marijuana education campaign keys on safe use

DENVER — Colorado health officials are announcing a new statewide marijuana-education campaign.

And they say it won’t look like last year’s controversial “Don’t Be a Lab Rat” campaign.

This year’s campaign will be called “Good to Know.” It’s aimed at residents and visitors about how to safely use the newly legal drug.

The campaign will cost about $6 million. The money comes from taxes on recreational marijuana.

Colorado’s chief medical officer says this year’s campaign will be “broader and more balanced” than last year’s lab rat campaign. That one was aimed at teens and tried to get them to avoid recreational pot use. But marijuana advocates found the lab rat campaign demeaning, especially its use of life-sized rat cages.


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This story was first published on DenverPost.com