When Florence resident Amy Bourlon-Hilterbran agreed to feature her family’s story in a Super Bowl public service announcement promoting medical marijuana, she was elated at the chance to fuel the conversation about national legalization of the drug.
The mother of four welcomed a professional camera crew to her house for an interview about her decision to use marijuana to treat her son’s catastrophic form of epilepsy.
Bourlon-Hilterbran gave permission for the crews to use footage of her son suffering from a seizure — the opening shot of the commercial. She willingly signed a nondisclosure agreement not to speak with anyone about the ad until it aired.
But the victory was short-lived when CBS promptly rejected the commercial. It hardly mattered that Acreage Holdings, publicly traded marijuana company and creator of the ad, was willing to pay the estimated $5 million to $10 million for the television spot.
According to a CBS News article, the CBS said in a statement, “Under our broadcast standards, we do not currently accept cannabis-related advertising.”
Bourlon-Hilterbran was devastated. She did not understand how the media giant could allow advertisements for alcohol and other pharmaceutical drugs but not marijuana.
“It makes me feel like somebody’s playing a game with our son’s life and so many others,” she said.
The one-minute black-and-white ad featured three vignettes of individuals across the U.S. who said they have benefited from medical marijuana use. A soft piano plays in the background as one man explains that he had switched to the drug after taking opioids for 15 years to stop the pain from numerous back surgeries. There’s a disabled veteran who wants access for all military service employees. Bourlon-Hilterbran appears throughout the ad.
“It’s not just unfair, it’s cruel,” she said about the country’s failure to legalize the cannabis nationwide.
The ad ends with a call-to-action, urging viewers to call their U.S. senator or representative and encourage them to pass legislation that would legalize cannabis at the federal level.
So far, 33 states and D.C. have passed laws legalizing marijuana in some form, and other states are considering legislation.
But the substance remains a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, meaning the burgeoning marijuana industry likely will have a fight ahead when it comes to large-scale advertising.
The NFL also does not allow its players to use marijuana. Since the ad’s cancelation, Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, called the substance a gateway to other drugs. Other former NFL players have condoned the use of marijuana, such as Nate Jackson, retired tight end for the Denver Broncos.
The effects of marijuana are still being studied and are largely unknown, but many have sworn by its ability to relieve pain and treat medical conditions from glaucoma to PTSD.
Doctors told Bourlon-Hilterbran and her husband four years ago that their son, Austin, now 18, would only live another two years. His Dravet’s syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, had reached treacherous levels. Austin had been taking a number of prescription medications, but none succeeded in alleviating his symptoms. Austin existed in a “zombie-like” state, according to Bourlon-Hilterbran. She described Austin as having dozens to hundreds of seizures each day. The pills even caused him to go into anaphylactic shock, she said.
“We were literally watching our son die,” she said.
In a final move of desperation, Bourlon-Hilterbran and her family left their Oklahoma home and headed to Colorado to treat Austin’s symptoms with legal medical marijuana. Neither she nor her husband originally viewed the substance as a viable treatment for their son.
Bourlon-Hilterbran said her son no longer takes prescription pills. She gives him a variety of cannabis products from topical creams to oils to nasal spray. Austin’s seizures occur only intermittently, and he is able to speak with his family and play with his younger brother, something that was impossible when he was taking pharmaceutical drugs.
Her son’s recovery spurred Bourlon-Hilterbran into further action. She started a support group for other moms who use marijuana to treat their children’s life-threatening illnesses. Her family has even been featured in the Netflix documentary, “The Legend of 420.”
Last summer, the Federal Drug Administration approved the first cannabis-based drug for severe epilepsy.
But the cancelation of the would-be Super Bowl ad was a major disappointment.
“I cried,” she said when she had found out the ad had been rejected. “It was very hard. I just feel like the time (to start a conversation about national legalization) is definitely now, and so much of the American public is calling for logic and compassion.”
Still, hundreds of thousands have viewed the PSA on YouTube.