Colorado’s ‘Don’t Be a Lab Rat’ Campaign Suspended in Boulder

Colorado is leading the nation right now as the first state to legalize the sale of marijuana to anyone over the age of 21. As to be expected with any social change of this magnitude, steps to move towards legalization of marijuana have been met with plenty of resistance from those who think that allowing adults to smoke weed will lead to the downfall of civilization.

One of the biggest concerns is that widespread access to marijuana will make it much more likely for the drug to fall into the hands of young kids. While sting operations have already shown that no dispensary in Colorado is selling directly to underage kids, it’s easy to see why parents might be worried and would want to educate kids about the negative effects of marijuana on young, developing brains.

A full size rat cage with water bottle in place is meant to deter teens from being cannabis “lab rats.”

A recent campaign to try to dissuade children from trying marijuana is the “Don’t Be a Lab Rat” campaign, which has set up giant “rat” cages in public areas of Colorado with signs telling kids that they’ll just become another statistic if they start smoking. It’s mostly just funny and corny, including giant water tanks attached to the cage.

The city of Boulder announced last week that it will not be setting up a cage at any Boulder Valley Schools because it just doesn’t really seem to have worked in Denver or anywhere else. School district spokesman Briggs Gamblin stated, “We had concerns about the use of human-scale rat cages being an effective tool for getting 12- to 15-year-olds to understand the risks involved with their developing brains.”

It’s totally understandable that lawmakers want to do everything they can to make sure that underage children aren’t going to end up on drugs, and there’s every reason to applaud that effort. However, public response to this attempt has been lukewarm at best, and it’s time for those in charge in Colorado to come up with a better way.

A cage that was set up at the popular live music venue Red Rocks this summer.