Rat in a Cage: Legalized Weed Has Been Awkward for Colorado’s Governor

During a recent hour-long interview on the subject of marijuana with Katie Couric at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper laid out the details of his upcoming PSA, an anti-pot campaign titled “Don’t Be A Lab Rat.”

“Kids are our highest concern,” he said, exuding his characteristic wide-eyed, Peter Pan innocence. “[Marijuana] has been illegal for so long as a class one narcotic, so scientists couldn’t get access to run tests on it… So we’re spending millions of dollars on a campaign getting to parents, making sure they understand this is a whole different kettle of fish, but also to get to the kids. We’re working on this campaign called ‘Don’t Be A Lab Rat.’ We’re looking to build these large, metal cages with a kind of hamster water-bottle inside, and then put them at bus stops or anywhere close to where kids intersect, telling them ‘don’t be a lab rat.’”

Illustration of Governor John Hickenlooper in a birdcage