A cannabis company tried to run an ad during the Oscars starring Bella Thorne, but ABC said no

As cannabis becomes more mainstream and the industry as a whole morphs into being more like every other American industry, major cannabis companies are going to want to get their hands on prime advertising time during the country’s biggest televised events.

[Cannabis news briefs: 14 million new Marijuana users in 10 years, Canopy Growth signs Martha Stuart, and Facebook lightens up on weed]

So far, however, it seems the big networks aren’t having it. A month ago, a cannabis company’s ad was turned down for Super Bowl placement by CBS. More recently, another cannabis company, Lowell Herb Co., says they tried to buy airtime during the Oscars for an ad starring former Disney starlet, Bella Thorne, and got rejected by ABC.

The company attempted to buy the $2 million spot for an ad that would show artisanal farmers lovingly tending to their cannabis crops. The ad would then transition to Ms. Thorne enjoying Lowell Herb Co.’s finished product with friends at a cool hipster party. According to Page Six, Lowell says the ad was meant to be a “celebration of California legalization”. Ms. Thorne told them “It’s a shame that, that message won’t be televised . . . for now.” Neither ABC nor the Oscars have gotten back to Page Six for a comment.

[Presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard is the latest 2020 contender to introduce legislation to legalize cannabis]

The extended version of the commercial can be viewed below: