Apple lifts ban on cannabis-related apps in the App Store

Apple has updated its App Store guidelines and will no longer prohibit cannabis companies from appearing on its platform, subject to certain conditions.

The rules, which were Updates in June, now allow licensed pharmacies and dispensaries—provided they are legal in their state—to use the App Store to facilitate cannabis purchases. Cannabis sales apps will also be geo-restricted so that they only work in the States or countries where cannabis is legal.

Previously, Apple prohibited cannabis-related businesses from appearing on its App Store; the former policy stated that «facilitating the sale of controlled substances (except for licensed pharmacies), marijuana, or tobacco is not permitted.» Some apps that let you control your vaporizer had suffered as a result and are still unavailable. Some apps, such as Weedmaps However, these continued to be distributed.

The new, updated policy states that «facilitating the sale of controlled substances (with the exception of licensed pharmacies and licensed or legal cannabis dispensaries) or tobacco is not permitted.»

Will Google follow in Apple’s footsteps? So far, Google’s Play Store has restricted cannabis businesses on its platform. Apple’s main competitor has banned any illegal activity that could «facilitate the sale or purchase of illegal drugs or prescription medications without a prescription,» «depict or encourage the use or sale of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco by minors,» and provide «instructions for the cultivation or manufacture of illegal drugs.».

The Play store has also implemented a policy regarding unapproved substances, including a list of banned substances such as cannabidiol (CBD).

For their part, Facebook and Instagram regularly delete the accounts of legitimate businesses, even in Canada, where cannabis is legal at the federal level, and ban all cannabis-related advertising, including most legal CBD products everywhere.