Cannabis is a Schedule 1 substance at the federal level, but 11 states have fully legalized it and 22 others allow it for medical use. This means that the legal status of cannabis is constantly changing, and regulations on cannabis advertising are also in flux. State regulators generally determine laws related to cannabis advertising, but not all states have established such laws. Advertising laws are modeled on existing laws governing the advertising of alcoholic beverages, and states are working to ensure that children are not exposed to advertisements for controlled substances.
Since marijuana is banned at the federal level, you won't see any national ads for the substance. Regulations vary depending on the states in which the ads will be seen. For example, Colorado law explicitly states that cannabis sellers cannot target people from outside the state. Advertising in a state that has not legalized marijuana for a dispensary located in a state where marijuana is legal is difficult and is likely to one day boil down to a judicial challenge.
Whatever type of cannabis advertising you participate in, from online to on billboards, there is one regulation that remains constant regardless of the state in which you choose to advertise: safety. You can't make false claims about the safety of your product or insinuate that the product does things it can't offer. Television stations, magazines, newspapers, websites and billboard vendors can decide if they want to accept money from cannabis advertising. The NFL is known to have rejected a cannabis advertisement for the Super Bowl; the league has strict policies regarding marijuana use by players.
In Louisiana, dispensaries cannot advertise their products or provide public information about their prices. In Mexico, advertising and promotion to the public are illegal. The marijuana regulations governing the marketing of cannabis will change and evolve as the market grows and more states approve it for recreational use. Stay informed by checking with us regularly for the latest updates.
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