Photo by JosephLeonardo.

Today the New York Times has a great story on how the medical marijuana industry may well save local newspapers starved for advertising dollars. Basically, the medical marijuana industry in the states where it is legal has been something of a boon to alt-weeklies, writes Jeremy W. Peters:

[I]n states like Colorado, California and Montana where use of the drug for health purposes is legal, newspapers — particularly alternative weeklies — have rushed to woo marijuana providers. Many of these enterprises are flush with cash and eager to get the word out about their fledgling businesses.

We can already hear the folks over at the City Paper cheering, if only a little. The District’s premier alt-weekly hasn’t been a stranger to the advertising recession, having lost more than half of its full-time editorial staff between 2006 and 2010 as revenues from classified and regular ads went elsewhere or just disappeared altogether. With the city’s own medical marijuana program set to kick off next year and the potential for ad buys by dispensaries, this could only mean good things for the District’s premier alt-weekly, right?