God's green plant now has a friend in cable television as the new show Cannabis Planet TV debuts on several stations across the United States, including South Florida's WHDT. The man who is partly responsible for getting it aired is Palm Beach pot activist and convicted smuggler Robert Platshorn, who is the program's media director.
Los Angeles-based Executive Producer Brad Lane began airing the program to promote the benefits of marijuana. Cannabis Planet TV debuted on station KJLA in July 2009, but since then, Lane has had trouble getting it aired on TV stations beyond California because its content was deemed too controversial.
See also: Pot Smuggler Schools Seniors on Medical Marijuana
But things are starting to change, particularly now that Platshorn is out of prison and marijuana legalization efforts are starting to sweep the nation.
You see, before Platshorn spent nearly 30 years in federal prison for smuggling tons of Colombia's finest grass, he produced infomercials for television. His repertoire includes one of the first Ginzu knife commercials as well as some experience in production for TV stations in Philadelphia. This isn't Platshorn's first run at ganja-themed television programming. His informercial "Should Grandma Smoke Pot?", which aims to educate senior citizens on the benefits of medical cannabis, has been running on local stations for some time now.
See also: Robert Platshorn Asks TV Audiences: "Should Grandma Smoke Pot?"
Lane has been pursuing Platshorn for years to harness his expertise on weed and TV experience, enlisting his help after a new syndication effort between Lane and fellow producer and colleague Bill Scher.
Lane wanted to take Cannabis Planet TV to different markets and found a way Lane sent WHDT owner Gunter Marksteiner a sample of the program and he gave the show a prime-time slot or in the fourth quarter.
The show debuts across markets in states such as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Boston, Oregon, Louisiana, and Texas. Come January, the show should be on a lot more stations, according to Platshorn, who added that the program will giving away a lot of free public service advertising to NORML, and other activist organizations.
"The commercials, of course, have to be for legal material--hemp seed, hemp fiber, hemp food, fresh markets," Platshorn said. "That's the kind of advertisers we will have. That's all being done on the west coast."
Cannabis Planet TV is an entertainment show with an emphasis on medical research, cannabis cooking, cultivation, cannabis celebrities, and legalization advances in America.
Saturday's show will feature a medley of cannabis experts from various backgrounds and professions, including federal government marijuana recipient Irvin Rosenfeld and glaucoma patient Elvy Musika. Interviews also include Dr. Julie Holland, author of The Pot Book, and Mara Gordon, international medical cannabis expert. There will be holiday cannabis cooking tips from chef Mike Delao, hemp tips, and music by the Trevor Green Band.
"We feel the show is the 20/20 of the 420 world and the plant seems to be in favor in with the public the recent Gallup polls." Marksteiner said.
Cannabis Planet TV begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 23, and will air a new episode every week. WHDT's programming is available to 6 million viewers from South Beach to Sebastian and is carried on standard definition cable TV channels 44 and high-definition channel 1044 by AT&T, on cable channels 17 (SD) and 438 (HD) in West Palm Beach by Comcast, and on channel 9 over the air with a television set.
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