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ByKristenWyatt The Associated Press DENVER Tired of Cheech & Chong pot jokes and ominous anti-drug cam- paigns, the marijuana in- dustry and activists are starting an ad blitz in Col- orado aimed at promoting moderation and the safe consumption of pot. To get their message across, they are skewering some of the old Drug War- era ads that focused on the fears of marijuana, includ- ing the famous "This is your brain on drugs" fried- egg ad from the 1980s. They are planning post- ers, brochures, billboards and magazine ads to cau- tion consumers to use the drug responsibly and warn tourists and first-tim- ers about the potential to get sick from accidentally eating too much medical- grade pot. "So far, every campaign designed to educate the public about marijuana has relied on fear-mongering and insulting marijuana users," said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Mari- juana Policy Project, the nation's biggest pot-policy advocacy group. The MPP plans to unveil a billboard on Wednesday on a west Denver street where many pot shops are located that shows a woman slumped in a ho- tel room with the tagline: "Don't let a candy bar ruin your vacation." It's an allusion to Mau- reen Dowd, a New York Times columnist who got sick from eating part of a pot-infused candy bar on a visit to write about pot. The campaign is a direct response to the state's post- legalization marijuana-ed- ucation efforts. One of them is intended to prevent stoned driving and shows men zoning out while trying to play basket- ball, light a grill or hang a television. Many in the in- dustry said the ads showed stereotypical stoners in- stead of average adults. Even more concerning to activists is a youth-ed- ucation campaign that re- lies on a human-sized cage and the message, "Don't Be a Lab Rat," along with warnings about pot and de- veloping brains. The cage in Denver has been repeatedly vandal- ized. At least one school district rejected the trav- eling exhibit, saying it was well-intentioned but inap- propriate. "To me, that's not really any different than Nancy Reagan saying 'Just Say No,'" said Tim Cullen, co- owner of four marijuana dispensaries and a critic of the "lab rat" campaign, referring to the former first lady's effort to combat drug use. A spokesman for the state Health Department welcomed the industry's ads, and defended the "lab rat" campaign. "It's been effective in starting a con- versation about potential risks to youth from mari- juana," Mark Salley said. The dueling campaigns come at a time when the in- dustry is concerned about inexperienced consumers using edible pot. The pop- ularity of edibles surprised some in the industry when legal-marijuana retail sales began in January. Edible pot products have been blamed for at least one death, of a college stu- dent who jumped to his death in Denver in March after consuming six times the recommended dose of edible marijuana. The headlines, including Dowd's experience, have been enough for the indus- try to promote moderation with edible pot. "I think the word has gotten out that you need to be careful with edibles," said Steve Fox, head of the Denver-based Council for Responsible Cannabis Reg- ulation. The group organized the "First Time 5" campaign, which cautions that new users shouldn't eat more than 5 milligrams of mari- juana's psychoactive ingre- dient, or half a suggested serving. The campaign warns us- ers that edible pot can be much more potent than the marijuana they're smoking — and that the pot-infused treats on store shelves are much stronger than home- made brownies they may recall eating. AD BLITZ Marijuana industry battling against stoner stereotypes MARIJUANAPOLICYPROJECT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS This September image, provided by the Marijuana Policy Project, (MPP), is to appear on a billboard in Denver to promote what MPP says is the first marijuana-related ad campaign that encourages adults to consume it responsibly in states where it is legal. MANUEL BALCE CENETA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Retired medical director Samuel Foote, of the Diamond Community-Based Outpatient Center, Phoenix VA Health Care System testifies Wednesday during a House Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing, By Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON A doctor who first exposed serious problems at the troubled Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital said Wednesday that a report on patient deaths there is a "white- wash" that minimizes life- threatening conduct by se- nior leaders at the hospital. Dr. Samuel Foote, a for- mer clinic director for the VA in Phoenix, said a re- port by the department's inspector general appears designed to "minimize the scandal and protect its per- petrators rather than to provide the truth." At best, "this report is a whitewash," Foote told the House Veterans Affairs Committee. "At its worst, it is a feeble attempt at a cover-up. The report delib- erately uses confusing lan- guage and math, invents new unrealistic standards of proof ... and makes mis- leading statements." The Aug. 26 report said workers at a Phoenix VA hospital falsified waiting lists while their supervi- sors looked the other way or even directed it, resulting in chronic delays for veterans seeking care. The inspector general's office identified 40 patients who died while awaiting appointments in Phoenix, but the report said officials could not "conclu- sively assert" that delays in care caused the deaths. Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin denied that the report sugarcoated any information about the Phoe- nix hospital or the VA, and he disputed suggestions by several Republicans that the report was altered at the re- quest of the VA. The sentence declaring that investigators could not "conclusively assert" that delays in care caused any patient deaths was not included in a draft report, and some lawmakers have suggested that Griffin's of- fice added the language in an attempt to soften an explosive allegation that helped launch the scandal in the spring — that delays in care may have resulted in patient deaths. Griffin rejected that idea out of hand. "This sentence was in- serted for clarity to summa- rize the results of our clinical casereviews,"hesaid,adding thatthechangewasbyhisof- fice on its own initiative. "Neither the language nor the concept was suggested by anyone at VA to any of my people," Griffin said. It is common practice for an inspector general to send a copy of its findings to the agency in question to elicit an official response, which is then included in the final report. Griffin said his office has a policy of making no substantial changes to re- ports after allowing the VA to inspect and comment. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., said language in the report obscured the fact that delays in care likely contributed to the deaths of veterans. "We can play with se- mantics all we want," Jolly told Griffin, "but right here at this table it was acknowl- edged that the (lengthy) wait list contributed to the deaths. That should be the headline," Jolly said. Jolly was referring to tes- timony by Dr. John Daigh, assistant inspector gen- eral for health-care inspec- tions, who said under ques- tioning from Jolly that de- lays in care contributed to some patient deaths. Ex-VA doctor: Phoenix report a 'whitewash' TESTIMONY By Michael Graczyk The Associated Press HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS A Texas woman convicted of the starvation and torture death of her girlfriend's 9-year-old son a decade ago was executed Wednes- day evening. Lisa Coleman, 38, re- ceived a lethal injection about an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-day appeal to spare her. She was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. CDT, 12 min- utes after Texas Depart- ment of Criminal officials began administering a le- thal dose of pentobarbital. Coleman became the ninth con- v i c t e d killer and s e c o n d woman to receive le- thal in- jection in Texas this year. Na- tionally, she's the 15th woman executed since the Supreme Court in 1976 al- lowed the death penalty to resume. During that same time, nearly 1,400 men have been put to death. Coleman smiled and nodded to several friends and an aunt who watched through a window, thank- ing them and expressing her love. She also said she loved the other women on Texas' death row and urged them to "keep their heads up." "I'm all right," she said. "Tell them I finished strong. ... God is good." She mouthed an audible kiss, laughed and nodded to her witnesses in the sec- onds before the lethal drug took effect. "Love you all," she said just before closing her eyes and taking a couple of short breaths. Then there was no further movement. Coleman was con- demned for the death of Davontae Williams, whose emaciated body was found in July 2004 at the North Texas apartment Coleman shared with his mother, Marcella Williams. Paramedics who found him dead said they were shocked to learn his age. He weighed 36 pounds, about half that of a normal 9-year-old. A pediatrician later would testify that he had more than 250 distinct injuries, including burns from cigarettes or cigars and scars from ligatures, and that a lack of food made him stop growing. 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