It went up in a puff of smoke.
What would have been the first-ever recreational marijuana ad to run on U.S. television was pulled on Monday night.
The ad for Neos, a provider of cannabis oil and vaporizers, was supposed to air on KMGH, an ABC affiliate in Denver, where marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use.
But the federal government, which regulates the airwaves, still considers pot illegal.
“Scripps has decided not to accept marijuana advertising at this time,” said Valerie Miller, spokeswoman for the E.W. Scripps Company, which owns the station. “We are proud to be a company of free speech and open expression, but we have concerns about the lack of clarity around federal regulations that govern broadcast involving such ads.”
It’s a familiar problem for the marijuana industry, which is legal for recreational use in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and D.C., and for medical use in 20 states. But local and state laws butt heads with the feds, which have not budged in response to loosening cannabis regulations.
“Channel 7 has officially put all cannabis commercials on hold until further notice, as ABC corporate investigates the legality of airing a ‘federally illegal’ substance on federal airwaves,” said Olivia Mannix, co-founder of Cannabrand, the ad agency that produced the Neos spot, in an email to CNNMoney.
She said Colorado law allows for the airing of marijuana TV ads when 70% of the audiences is 21 or older. Mannix said the ad was planned to have aired late Monday night around the time of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where 97% of the audience is at least 21, according to Nielsen reports.
She said that the Federal Communications Commission has yet to clarify how it views marijuana advertising.
“That’s where we’re at; one hurdle after another,” said Mannix. “We’re interested to see how this all unfolds, as this is unchartered territory for the industry.”
