Sharda Sekaran is the managing director of communications for the Drug Policy Alliance. Why do stereotypical images persist even though today’s marijuana consumer might look more like your Aunt Bettie or your accountant than The Dude, and now that vaporizers, edibles and topical creams have rendered the ubiquitous joint somewhat obsolete? One reason may be lack of existing images that show regular people using marijuana in an everyday context. After all, marijuana is still illegal in many places, and consumers may be reluctant to have their images plastered everywhere. That’s why the Drug Policy Alliance has endeavored to provide media outlets with ready to use stock photos of everyday people who use marijuana. These images, shot by San Francisco based photographer Sonya Yruel, are examples of the type of photos that media could be using when doing a story about marijuana legalization, patients who use marijuana to relieve debilitating pain, or people losing their homes and their jobs because of a marijuana arrest. We are making these photos open license and free to use for non commercial editorial purposes, and we hope they will help make the jobs of editors easier and the content more relevant. – The Huffington Post
