This Is The First Pro-Marijuana Commercial To Air On Major Networks In The U.S.

This is the very first pro-marijuana commercial to air on major networks throughout the United States, and it’s actually pretty clever given how deceptive anti-pot ads have been for decades. Playing off the inherent sketchiness of a playground drug dealer, this ad for ‘MarijuanaDoctorsdotcom’ is using the same tactics D.A.R.E. and other anti-marijuana crusaders have been using for decades, only this time it’s to send customers to medical marijuana instead of promoting weed prohibition.

The commercial is an intentionally farcical approach to promoting regulated and legalized marijuana, and for that they deserve a bit of recognition. Because anti-weed lobbyists and crusaders have for decades been trying to paint marijuana as a gateway drug to a life to sleeping on the streets and murder. Though I couldn’t find mention of it myself because it appears the site’s blog hasn’t been updated since 2013, both HighTimes and CinemaBlend are reporting that somewhere on MarijuanaDoctors.com they claim the commercial has aired on “networks such as ABC, CNBC, CBS, CNN, and Bloomberg.”

Naturally we should assume it aired in markets where marijuana is legalized (Colorado, Alaska, Washington D.C., Oregon). There is a part of the site that states ‘as seen on’ listing a bunch of networks, but that might just mean ‘Marijuana Doctors’ have been mentioned on those networks, and not necessarily that the ad has aired there:

But I’m nitpicking far too much over something that’s likely my own fault: me not being able to navigate the Marijuana Doctors’ site properly. For now it’s reassuring to know that legalized marijuana is still pushing the boundaries, and even in markets where it has been legalized it is pushing the status quo by demanding to be treated as an equal alongside any other industry.

Feature image used from Reddit user michaelfbgm