Postal Service serves notice: No pot ads by mail

The battle between federal and state law concerning the legality of marijuana may have been joined in a small Washington seaside town.

Or not.

A handful of Oregon newspapers have published stories this week saying the U.S. Postal Service has delivered a memo to the Chinook Observer in Long Beach, Washington, notifying the management that it is illegal “to place an ad in any publication with the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy or distribute a Schedule I controlled substance. ... If an advertisement advocates the purchase of clinical marijuana through a Medical Marijuana Dispensary, it does not comply with the law.”

The Observer is owned by a company that also publishes Oregon’s Daily Astorian. The two papers publish a twice-monthly entertainment tabloid that typically contains advertisements from sellers of cannabis products. Oregon began retail sales of marijuana Oct. 1. Washington retail sales started in July 2014.

“Who generated the document is unclear,” said Steve Forrester, editor and publisher of the Daily Astorian and president and CEO of EO Media Group, which publishes 11 newspapers in Oregon and Washington. The EO Media Group portfolio includes the Chinook Observer.

It is unclear, he said, why the local postmaster reminded the Observer that marijuana is illegal under federal law. The postal supervisor for Pacific County, which is in Southwest Washington and is home to Long Beach, has his office in Portland.

Ernie Swanson, spokesman for the Postal Service in Washington, said Wednesday that he had only heard about the issue that morning. He later offered the following statement from the Postal Service: “The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) makes it a felony for any person to place in any newspaper, magazine, handbill, or other publications, any written advertisement knowing that it has the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a Schedule I controlled substance, which includes marijuana. The CSA provides criminal penalties for mailing advertisements for the illegal sale or purchase of marijuana (along with all other controlled substances). Advertising that solicits the illegal sale or purchase of marijuana accordingly is not mailable.”

He was unaware of any recent seizures or the rejection of any mail because of illicit advertising, he said.

Forrester said Wednesday that he has contacted members of Oregon’s congressional delegation concerning the Postal Service memo.

The supervisor at the Portland office of the Postal Service “didn’t know about it,” he said.

“Our world is full of surprises. Here was another one that I had not dreamed of,” Forrester said.

The Long Beach postmaster has offered that “he would let next week’s edition through. We hope to have some solution after that,” Forrester said.

Marcia Van Dyke, executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, said Wednesday that she was aware of the issue.

“We’re working it out right now,” she said. “It has not been an issue with any postmasters in Washington. We’re waiting to see how this all unfolds. We’re just now starting the conversation.”

If the Postal Service begins to enforce the memo, Van Dyke said, “it would definitely have an impact on our members. Lots of them are running marijuana ads.”

Emily Langley, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington’s Western District, said Wednesday, “From our perspective we follow the priorities outlined in the Cole Memo that lists priorities for the prosecution of marijuana.”

The Cole Memo, published in 2013 under the signature of Deputy Attorney General James Cole, lists a series of priorities as “guidance” to law enforcement. The priorities include preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors; preventing revenue from reaching gangs and cartels; preventing interstate cannabis commerce and limiting its cultivation on federal lands, among other criteria.

Rowland Thompson, executive director of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, said he was surprised that the federal-state marijuana conversation would begin with his industry.

“I didn’t think we would be the poster child. How likely was that? But there it is. Things like this seem to start this way, at some little tiny post office on the coast,” he said Wednesday.

Wesley Abney, editor and publisher of the 35,000-circulation Northwest Leaf and Oregon Leaf monthlies, said, “Ultimately I don’t see this impacting the publishing industry, at least for marijuana-based publishing. We use outside sources like FedEx. I’ve never heard of UPS not delivering a publication advertising adult services or things of that nature. It’s shocking that (the Postal Service) would take this approach. It’s freedom-of-speech protected. It’s not going to do anything to affect the industry. I found it pretty shocking and silly.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Postal Service serves notice: No pot ads by mail."