Legal weed ads vanish from YouTube after Missouri Highway Patrol letter

JEFFERSON CITY — Two ads by the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri vanished from YouTube after the Missouri State Highway Patrol accused the group of breaking state law by the “unauthorized” use of its emblem.The 30-second ad targeted by the patrol was visible on the Legal Missouri 2022 campaign YouTube page on Thursday. But by Friday afternoon, it had disappeared.A similar 15-second ad was still visible Friday afternoon, but a campaign spokesman said the campaign would be “taking down” the 15-second one if it was still uploaded. It eventually disappeared as well.“We will be uploading new versions of both shortly,” said John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022.The patrol issued a public statement earlier this week saying it didn’t approve the use of its “emblem, name, or images” and that “nor was permission sought.” An agency spokesman said Thursday the patrol sent a “cease-and-desist order” to the Legal Missouri campaign, but a copy of the letter wasn’t immediately provided. The Post-Dispatch received the letter on Friday.Kayla Kemp, legal counsel for the patrol, said in the Wednesday letter the emblem “is a registered service mark” and that its registration “prohibits anyone other than the owner of the service…
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