The first ever television advertisement for medical marijuana in the United States aired Monday,in New Jersey and Chicago and is set to appear in Massachusetts next week.
MarijuanaDoctors.com, the website that acts as a guide for patients to find doctors prescribing marijuana, was the first to put an advert about the pot in the country on Comcast, America's largest cable network.
The commercial goes like this: A 'shady' street dealer tries to persuade unsuspecting buyers to purchase 'unsafe' sushi. Then we hear a woman's voice asking viewers that when they would not buy sushi from such dealers then why risk purchasing marijuana from unauthorized places.
The company claims that the ad draws a parallel in an attempt to stress the importance of consulting doctors to get medical marijuana for severe and debilitating medical conditions.
"We recognize that the sale and use of marijuana is still considered very controversial and we are pleased that Comcast understands that there are legitimate businesses providing legitimate and legal services to people who have legitimate needs. The goal of MarijuanaDoctors.com is to bridge that gap between the patients who have a need for marijuana recommendations, and the doctors who write medical marijuana recommendations," said Jason Draizin, founder and CEO of MarijuanaDoctors.com, in a press release.
He explained that the company connects the patients to the doctors by a simple filling out of a form on the website and helps them find a certified physician near their location. "To date, we've helped thousands of patients connect with proven and trusted doctors who can recommend medical marijuana," Draizin said.
Comcast has decided to air the medical marijuana commercial only between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. It will not telecast the ad when family shows air on the network. Comcast stated that the commercial promotes a legal service in the areas that it was aired. "It went through our legal department, and they approved it," a Comcast spokesperson told The Verge.
Colorado and Washington were the first states to legalize smoking pot in 2012. Following this, several states decided to decriminalize marijuana. However, the same year witnessed more number of Americans being arrested for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes put to together, reports Bloomberg.
Watch America's medical marijuana commerical:
