MBTA SUED FOR NIXING PRO-MARIJUANA ADS

A group pressing for looser marijuana laws yesterday sued the MBTA,
charging the state transit agency is stifling free speech by refusing
to run its ads.

Greenfield-based Change the Climate says the MBTA is filtering out
messages it doesn't like.

"The T runs a lot of ads about drug policies from different agencies,
but decided they didn't like the point of view in these ads," said
Sarah Wunsch, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of
Massachusetts, which filed suit on behalf of the group.

"The MBTA is a government agency and it is not allowed to discriminate
based on the point of view of the ads. The First Amendment prohibits
that." Among the ads, slated to run on subways and buses, was one
featuring two police officers, with the message: "Police are too
important . . . too valuable . . . too good . . . to waste on
arresting people for marijuana when real criminals are on the loose."

It's not the first time the MBTA has been sued for turning down
ads.

The AIDS Action Committee went to court after the T rejected its
proposed ads. The MBTA lost the case and was ordered to pay the ACLU's
legal fees.

But MBTA officials say they can refuse ads they deem
unfit.

"We have the right to and will not accept advertising containing
violent criminal content, firearms or promotional material that is
harmful to juveniles," said T spokesman Brian Pedro.

"We also have a very strict drug and alcohol policy here. It's a drug
and alcohol-free workplace. We don't even allow tobacco advertising on
the system.

"We're not going to capitulate just because they went to court."