Twitter now allows cannabis ads

Twitter has decided to open its platform to cannabis advertising in the United States and Canada.

A website update of the company indicates that, subject to restrictions, Twitter will now allow approved cannabis brands to target adults in the legal jurisdictions of the U.S. and Canada.

Beyond cannabis-based products, Twitter will also allow ads for related products and services, such as analytical labs or cultivation tools. Until now, only CBD-based cosmetics brands were allowed to advertise on the platform.

Very limited advertising

Under the new guidelines, cannabis-related advertisers must be pre-approved by Twitter and have a license issued by the relevant authorities. They can only target jurisdictions in which they are authorized to promote their products or services.

Advertisements promoting or proposing the sale of cannabis remain prohibited, with the exception of topical CBD products derived from hemp and containing 0.3 % THC or less, the US federal limit.

Advertisers may not target customers under the age of 21, and landing pages must be categorized by age. Claims of efficacy, health benefits or advertisements depicting people consuming cannabis are also not permitted.

For Canadian brands, little seems to have changed, since the platform already allowed restricted advertising for cannabis.

As in the U.S., Canadian cannabis advertisers require a license from Health Canada and prior authorization from Twitter, and can only promote brand-preference or informational content.

Advertising content that communicates price or distribution information, offers a testimonial or endorsement, or features a person, character or animal remains prohibited.

Despite these restrictions, this policy change makes Twitter the first major social network to allow cannabis advertising in the United States.

Other platforms still reluctant

Google has recently - somewhat - open to advertising for and CBD cosmetics in California, Colorado and Puerto Rico.

Facebook, which acquired Instagram in 2012 for US$1 billion, prohibits «attempts to buy, sell or trade non-medical drugs, pharmaceutical drugs and cannabis by individuals, manufacturers and retailers», according to the company's rules. It allows advertising for certain hemp-based products, but not for THC- or CBD-based products.

On Instagram, the policy is similar, with the platform noting that it «does not allow individuals or organizations to use the platform to advertise or sell cannabis, regardless of the seller's state or country.»

TikTok also severely censors all cannabis-related posts and completely bans advertising, even by legal operators.

Reddit allows ads for «topical and non-edible products derived from hemp» in the US.