If you’re driving through Thurston County, Washington and your car needs an oil change, tire fixed, or just a general tune up, all you have to do is look for the “Get Weed” billboard. But while the massive legal weed advertisement hanging above Integrity Car Care in Tumwater may make the auto body shop easier to find, the billboard has also caused a series of headaches for the shop’s owners.
According to a pair of reports from local news station KIRO 7 and radio station 770 KTTH, local residents have begun a boycott of Integrity Car Care thanks to the billboard, even though the car repair business has no interest or influence over the advertising hanging above the shop. For owners Robert and Randy Fox, the boycott came completely out of the blue, especially considering marijuana’s legal status in Washington State and the fact that the same billboard had been in the same spot months earlier without any uproar.
“It has been rotated in and out on the billboard probably 10 or more times and we haven’t heard anything,” Robert Fox told KTTH. “And all of a sudden we get an anonymous letter from a concerned citizen, threatening a boycott and they already have 75 signatures.”
In the letter delivered to Fox, the unnamed local resident says that they are “disturbed” by the letterboard directing passersby to the Bud Commander dispensary, and claim that the boycott will continue until the billboard is removed.
“So far we have gathered 75 signatures from unhappy residents and concerned parents and our effort will continue,” the letter reads. “Promotion and provocation of drugs has its costs.”
"Controversy" erupted over a car repair shop in Tumwater. Above the shop stands a billboard for a marijuana business stating “Get Weed.” This prompted the local community to start a boycott. Only it's most likely one angry crazy person complaining.
READ: https://t.co/skMvFE5JaR pic.twitter.com/SUupTo32zt
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 14, 2019
To help the auto shop avoid any further issues, Bud Commander owner David Moore has offered to move the billboard, but Fox has declined, citing support from his regular customers, weed’s legal status, and the absurdity of the entire situation.
“You know what, the citizens of this state legalized marijuana several years ago,” Randy Fox told KTTH. “This gentleman is running a legal, licensed business and he has the right to advertise that business.”
Even without actively moving the “Get Weed” signage, it appears that the boycott won’t last very long. Lamar Advertising, the company that owns the billboard, told KIRO that they change the ad on that site every month.
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