How an advertising company put a ‘marijuana cookie’ on your computer to get weed legalized

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you have a cookie on your computer or your smartphone that says how much you like weed -- or at least how you feel about the idea of weed being legalized. The cookie reflects a score that was calculated for you by CampaignGrid, a digital advertising company that has spent the last five years creating a database with information on over 120 million potential voters. It then uses this information to determine the likelihood of a given voter being pro-legalization. The higher your score, the more likely your opinion on pot is favorable.

If you’re young, make over $85,000 and live in Maryland, your score is probably 85 or so. If you are registered as a Republican in a sparsely populated town in Wyoming, your score is likely lower than 50. These scores weren’t just calculated for fun; they were used to get out the vote for legalization in Oregon, Florida and Alaska, all states where pro-marijuana groups had hired CampaignGrid to help them win over voters.