Facebook and Google are still refusing to run ads for marijuana - even where it is now legal - but Comcast is jumping into the fray.
A controversial commercial will advertise MarijuanaDoctors.com, a site designed for patients seeking medical marijuana treatment in states where it's legal. Political ads promoting marijuana legalization have run before, but the company says this is the first time an ad for a marijuana business has appeared on network TV.
Here's the ad, which uses some unfortunate caricatures and compares buying marijuana on the street to buying sushi on the street:
A Comcast spokesperson told The Verge that the ad promotes a legal service and was approved by their legal department. It will only air between 10PM and 5AM, a schedule restriction also in effect for certain alcohol commercials.
"Securing the airtime for our commercial on a major network was extremely difficult and at the same time, extremely satisfying," said Jason Draizin, CEO of MarijuanaDoctors.com, in a press release. "We recognize that the sale and use of marijuana is still considered very controversial."
Draizin is also behind MarijuanaAdvertising.com - which aims to "mainstream advertising for [medical marijuana] one client at a time" - as well as several other marijuana-related businesses. According to Draizin's LinkedIn profile, he maintains "a network of three hundred domains providing resources to the medical cannabis market."
The MarijuanaDoctors.com spot is set to appear on Fox, CNN, Comedy Central, Bravo, and on several other Comcast channels.
The site says its listings include more than 300 doctors. In New Jersey, where the commercial began airing this week, there are nine doctors available through the site.