A Canadian company recently released a sneak peek into what the owners are calling “the world’s first marijuana commercial.”
Here’s the scene: A man walks into a liquor store in search of products that come from “a plant that grows out of the ground.” He is met with hostility from an employee, who suggests choosing the “liquid alternative” that’s legal.
“You know, the [liquid alternative] that leads to violence, social problems, the occasional gruesome death,” the store clerk adds.
The customer is appalled. “It’s 2014, man, and you’re telling me I have no other choice but to consume these dangerous products?” he asks the salesman. Cue bearded royal cannabis majesty from Crop King Seeds.
The Vancouver-based marijuana breeder has not yet aired the commercial, which the company launched on YouTube earlier this month. But the message is clear: Pot seeds are now products available in Canada, where medical marijuana purchased with a prescription has been legal since 2001.
In the United States, marijuana use is still technically a crime under federal law, but the Obama administration has given permission to states to experiment with regulation of the drug. During the last presidential election, voters made Colorado and Washington the first two states in the country to allow the legal recreational use of pot for adults. Earlier this year, Colorado became the country’s first state to sell recreational marijuana. Just last week, Washington state residents joined Coloradans in legalizing recreational sales.
Other states are also moving to legalize the use and sale of both medical and recreational marijuana. Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia might vote on the issue later this year.
In 2013, most Americans — 58% — agreed with residents in Colorado and Washington about marijuana use for the first time, according to an October Gallup Poll. A mere 12% favored legalization when the organization first asked Americans the same question in 1969.
Michele Richinick