CBS Nixes Planned Medical Marijuana Ad for Super Bowl

Bloomberg reports that CBS rejected a planned Super Bowl ad for medical marijuana. According to Acreage Holdings, which is a multi-state cannabis company, CBS rejected the TV ad that called for the legalization of medical marijuana. CBS ultimately opted not to use the proposed ad after the network received a rough outline.

Per TMZ, sources close to the network claimed that CBS does not accept any cannabis-related advertising. The sources also indicated they are not aware of any broadcasters who would put similar ads on the air.

Acreage Holdings has a license to grow and distribute marijuana in several stated. It’s also backed by former Speaker of the House John Boehner. The ad reportedly would’ve featured a woman who lived in Oklahoma with a son who suffers from a type of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. As a result, she had to move to Colorado because her son couldn’t receive medical marijuana treatment in Oklahoma due to the laws at the time.

The Super Bowl ad would’ve presented a message that not legalizing medical marijuana is not only bad but cruel to the people it can help prospective patients by alleviating pain.

Currently, medicinal marijuana is legal in more than 30 states. It’s still outlawed at a federal level. Acreage president George Allen said the ad was seen as a way to “create an advocacy campaign for constituents who are being lost in the dialogue.”