THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

A wonderful thing is happening in Portland, Maine. Portland has a ballot question to legalize use of marijuana and lots of advertisements supporting the use of marijuana because of it.

When televangelist Pat Robertson announced his support for legalizing marijuana last year, pot backers wasted no time in putting his picture on an electronic billboard in Colorado.

Marijuana billboards have popped up along busy freeways from Seattle to Florida. In September, one greeted fans going to Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver for the first NFL game of the season. In July, pot supporters tried to get a video ad on a jumbo screen outside a NASCAR event in Indianapolis, but objections forced them to pull it in the last minute.

In the latest twist, pro-pot billboards are emblazoned on city buses in Portland, Maine, aimed at winning votes for a Nov. 5 ballot measure that would make the city the first on the East Coast to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

Critics fear that the increased advertising is a sign of things to come as support for legalization continues to grow, reflected by a Gallup poll released last week that found backing from a record high 58 percent of Americans. They see the stepped-up promotion as a dangerous trend that will lead to more drug abuse among children.

While the Greater Portland Transit District has banned tobacco ads, it accepted $2,500 to display the marijuana billboards on the exterior of four of its 32 city buses and in two bus shelters. The ads, which debuted early this month, are set to run until Election Day.

In one ad, a bespectacled woman says: “I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it’s less toxic, so there’s no hangover.” Another features a smiling young man who says he prefers pot over booze “because it doesn’t make me rowdy or reckless.”

Transit officials say the ads are constitutionally protected political speech since they also encourage a “yes” vote on a city ballot initiative.

Regardless of the outcome, you have to admit this does make the bus look a lot better.