'A new beer:' Marijuana ad to run during NASCAR race

INDIANAPOLIS -- Fans attending and watching NASCAR races are usually classified as the "beer drinking crowd." But one marijuana legalization advocacy group hopes to change that this weekend during the NASCAR Brickyard 400.

The Marijuana Policy Project, the nation's larges pro-marijuana legalization group, purchased air space for dozens of ads to run during the popular NASCAR race, USA Today reported. The short, 30-second ad advocates marijuana use as an alternative to beer because it features less calories, no hangovers and not linked to violence or reckless behavior.

The video ends with the tagline: "less harmful than alcohol."

Mason Tvert of the Marijuana Policy Project said the group was running to ad in hopes to reach a broad audience.

"We think it's critical that the public recognize that marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol," Tvert said.