A decision by a Fox affiliate in California's capital to broadcast what is believed to be the first ...

1. Medical Marijuana: First Commercial Airs in California
A decision by a Fox affiliate in California's capital to broadcast what is believed to be the first paid
ad for a medical marijuana dispensary has caused hardly a stir, according to the station general
manager and the advertiser.
"I answer my own phone, and I have received nothing directly," Mike Armstrong, acting general
manager of KTXL in Sacramento, said of viewer complaints about the spot, which aired on Monday.
"I expected more. I don't know. I just did."
The mellow reaction is perhaps attributable to the fact that cannabis use is widely accepted in
Northern California.
Medical marijuana commercial airs in California
In November, Californians will vote on whether to make their state the first to legalize marijuana for
recreational use. Another law already on the books -- Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act
-- made the state the first to legalize medical marijuana.
The 30-second commercial is the brainchild of Lanette Davies, who owns Sacramento's CannaCare
dispensary, which serves some 5,000 registered marijuana patients.
Man Loses Job Over Medical Marijuana
"It has been all positive," said Davies, who is opposed to the legalization of marijuana for
recreational purposes. "I have not had one negative response. I expected more people to say, 'I don't
like that.' I'm really pleasantly surprised that people have acknowledged the difference between a
patient and somebody that is an abuser."

2. But John Redman, executive director of the San
Diego-based Californians for a Drug Free Youth,
said he expected a stronger reaction as more
people see the commercial, which first aired
Monday and will appear for more than a month.
Medical Marijuana for Kids
"I know the prevention community is very
disappointed," he said. "I think they are going to
hear about it. You're going to see the tide
California medical marijuana dispensaries
turning on them."
The black-and-white segment shows various
people talking about the benefits of marijuana
for medicinal purposes. The accompanying text
states that marijuana can be used to relieve
http://medicalmarijuana.org/ many illnesses,
including diabetes, HIV, Hepatitis C and
hypertension.
"We get 30 seconds to portray the face of
medicinal marijuana," said Davies, whose own daughter suffers from a rare bone disease and
appears in the commercial. "Every single one of those people is a true-life patient. It's a very benign
ad."
Marijuana does not appear in the ad, and the word "marijuana" is never used. Instead, patients and
the ad itself refer to plant as "cannabis." The commercial was produced by Tribune-owned KTXL.
"I wanted to have some content control," Armstrong said.
The federal Food and Drug Administration website says drug ads medical marijuana California
should mention the risks of using the substance, but Armstrong doesn't believe his station's
commercial falls into that category.
"I see one prescription drug ad with 20 seconds of very detailed risk analysis; I see another with
none," he said.
Ads for marijuana dispensaries are common in the state's alternative newspapers and on the radio.
But the CannaCare segment is believed to be the first such advertisement on mainstream television,
Armstrong said. Other stations will likely monitor the reaction before running similar segments.
Medical Marijuana for Kids
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/medical-marijuana-commercial-airs-california/story?id=11547326