Take my face off billboard, TV evangelist demands

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Staff

By Charles Ashby
Friday, July 20, 2012

Televangelist Pat Robertson wants his face off a Grand Junction billboard.

And he got it.

The backers of a ballot measure calling for regulating marijuana like alcohol were asked Thursday to remove his image from the advertisement immediately.

Robertson spokesman Chris Roslan said that was because the founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network and one-time presidential contender never endorsed Amendment 64 as its backer claimed.

He said Robertson has no idea what the initiative would do.

“Dr. Robertson has not in fact read the Colorado initiative and simply does not have an opinion on it,” Roslan said in an email. “Earlier today, I alerted the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol to this fact. They just emailed me saying they would remove the billboard.”

Mason Tvert, head of that campaign, said he complied immediately.

Still, Tvert said the ad accomplished its goal, which was to let Western Slope voters know that Robertson supports the idea of legalizing marijuana.

He said Robertson made that known in a March New York Times article on the subject.

“Our intention was to share the opinion conveyed by Mr. Robertson in the New York Times,” Tvert said. “The New York Times article said that, and his interview has been hailed by advocates of marijuana reform. We were simply putting up a billboard that conveys his opinion.”

But Roslan said that’s not exactly what the article said.

He said Robertson was expressing support for using the citizens initiative process to address the marijuana issue, and not necessarily supporting such legalization measures in Colorado and Washington, or anywhere else, for that matter.

It’s not the first time Roslan has had to issue statements clarifying what Robertson has said on the issue.

In December 2010, Robertson made national news when he talked on his “700 Club” television program about how criminalizing marijuana has led to a jail overcrowding problem, and more juvenile offenders.

While many took his comments to mean Robertson supported legalizing the weed, Roslan said he was only referring to helping juveniles and keeping them out of prison.

He has never condoned the use of marijuana, Roslan said.