NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – New York has debuted the nation’s first cannabis TV ad that focuses on social equity, state officials said.
The 30-second spot is the first of its kind to appear on broadcast TV, the state Office of Cannabis Management said. It debuted during game one of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
The public service ad highlights the “the state’s goals of creating a diverse and inclusive industry and repairing harm done during cannabis prohibition,” the OCM said.
The ad notes that Hispanic and Black New Yorkers have been disproportionately arrested for drug crimes in the state during the 30 years before legalization in 2021.
From 1990 to 2020, Hispanic people were eight times more likely to be arrested for cannabis, and Black people were 15 times more likely to be arrested, compared to white people, according to state arrest data and U.S. population data.
“White, Black or brown, data shows that we all use cannabis at the same rate,” a narrator says in the ad.
New York officials have said they want to ensure a place in the cannabis market for people who were prosecuted over the decades, with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration vowing to create “the most diverse and inclusive” marijuana industry in the nation.
New York aims to provide 50% of licenses to marijuana entrepreneurs who are women or minorities, struggling farmers, disabled veterans and people from communities that endured heavy marijuana policing.
The state has already expunged or suppressed almost 400,000 convictions for cannabis offenses, according to the OCM.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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