“Austin would have dozens to hundreds of seizures every single day. None of the prescriptions would work. One pill almost killed our son.”
That’s how the medical cannabis ad produced by Acerage Holdings begins.
From there, it goes on to tell more about Austin, along with Greg Kazmierczak, who has been hooked on opioids for 15 years — and Ryan Miller, a military veteran who also suffered from excruciating pain after losing one of his legs serving our nation.
The ad ends by asking viewers to call their Congressional representatives and demand change in the laws. Austin’s mother is quoted as saying “It’s not just unfair, It’s cruel.”
That statement can apply to our federal laws, which still do not recognize medical cannabis as anything but a “Schedule I” drug, and therefore puts people like the people in the ad in legal peril for trying to curb suffering and end addictions.
The statement can also apply to CBS, who will run ads for beer, booze, and wine — along with erectile dysfunction ads and just about anything else anyone who has 5-10 million dollars to blow on a Super Bowl ad wants to run.
Harris Damashek, chief marketing officer for Acreage Holdings, echoes those feelings that see CBS as being somewhat hypocritical:
“You will see countless ads (during the Super Bowl) for beer and erectile dysfunction medications but our ad with an educational goal to help people who are suffering is rejected. That is the irony we are looking to highlight.’’
Not many people have actually seen the ad, but you can view it below:
Acerage Holdings is one of the largest cannabis companies out there right now. Their brass includes people like former Speaker of the House, John Boehner and former Massachusetts Governor, Bill Weld. Although their public service announcement for medical cannabis was rejected by CBS, they have given us a glimpse into the future of marijuana, which is most definitely going to be mainstream — sooner or later.
