A proposed commercial by dispensary-locator company Weedmaps was sacked by NFL and NBC suits.
During Sunday’s Super Bowl, you’re likely to see some good football (go Bengals), an entertaining halftime show by Snoop Dogg (thankfully well past his Snoop Lion phase), and a bunch of try-hard commercials for everything from Amazon to Vroom (the online car retailer). One thing that won’t be advertised is marijuana, despite being legal for medical use in 38 states and recreational use in 19. The NFL and NBC blocked an attempt by Weedmaps, a company founded in 2008 to help California medical marijuana users locate dispensaries, to run an ad that CEO Chris Beals said would have tried to » push the dialogue forward around cannabis. » Both the NFL and NBC, the network broadcasting the Super Bowl, prohibit weed commercials. Ironies abound: Hard liquor, an intoxicant that even prohibitionists agree is more dangerous than marijuana, has been advertised during the Super Bowl since 2017. That year also saw commercials for other drugs such as antidepressants and birth control pills. Anheuser-Busch’s Super Bowl beer commercials are their own subgenre, and the rapper Snoop Dogg, » whose name is synonymous with weed, » is providing the game’s entertainment. Additionally, this year’s Super Bowl will be played in California, the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996.
