A new bill that would increase funding for anti-drug advertising, while no longer allowing for pro-drug advertisement on public transportation, is drawing skepticism from drug alliance groups.

Earlier this month, a provision approved by the U.S. House of Representatives made it possible to take funding from public transportation companies if they allow advertisements which push for the legalization of marijuana.

NIU and the Huskie Bus system are “relatively unaffected” by the ruling, said John Acardo, Student Association chief of staff.

Because the Huskie Buses do not receive federal funding, they do not adhere to the ruling, he said.

Change the Climate, a Washington, D.C.-based company that promotes the legalization of marijuana, had been running ads on the bus system in favor of marijuana legalization. Some legislators saw the ads and were offended enough to push for the legislation to ban such ads, said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Although NIU is relatively unaffected by this, the SA, along with the Student Association Mass Transit Board, has its own policy in place regarding ads on the Huskie Bus system. SA policy states that the SAMTB reserves the right to remove any ad that is deemed to be “obscene, lewd or potentially offensive.”

Nationally, the ruling does not sit well with Fox and others in his situation.

“To us, it’s a clean violation of First Amendment rights,” Fox said, referring to freedom of speech rights.

Fox added that being punished for running ads promoting the legalization of drugs is unfair to both transient systems and groups promoting legislation.

What makes it more unfair is that the same bill will grant $145 million in anti-marijuana advertising, said Bill Piper, associate director of national affairs for drug policy alliance.

“This is just going to open the flood gates for more anti-drug ads,” Piper said.

Not everyone thinks an increase in the ads would be negative.

U.S. Congressman Mark Souder (R-Indiana) has supported anti-drug advertising for a long time, said Martin Green, Souder’s press secretary.

Souder has worked closely with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which has developed many of the popular campaigns about marijuana’s harmful affects.

“[Souder] considers it important,” Martin said. “Some of those ads in D.C. were inappropriate.”