Twitter Is Now Allowing Cannabis Ads in the US — But To What Extent?
As part of its ongoing quest for new revenue streams, Twitter recently updated its advertising policy to allow “approved Cannabis (including CBD– cannabinoids) advertisers to target the United States.”
The update has gotten a lot of people excited, understandably, especially after an early report on AdCann said that “effective immediately, Twitter is allowing advertisers to promote brand preference and informational cannabis-related content.”
AdCann then states that the advertisements will be permitted for the following product and service categories:
- CBD (Cannabidiol) and similar cannabinoid products
- THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) and similar products
- Cannabis-related products and services. Examples include, but are not limited to: delivery services, labs, growing technology, search engines, events, etc.
But these details, in this particular format, do not seem to appear in the current version of the social media platform’s updated advertising policy, creating some amount of confusion, particularly on the specifics of what’s allowed or not.
The updated policy says that approved Cannabis (including CBD– cannabinoids) advertisers are allowed to target the US, but are not allowed to “promote or offer the sale of Cannabis (including CBD– cannabinoids)” with the exemption of “ads for topical (non-ingestible) hemp-derived CBD topical products containing equal to or less than the 0.3% THC government-set threshold.”
Prior to this change, approved advertisers were only allowed to “promote non-ingestible, legally derived CBD topical products.”
One would assume then that this new rule means that ads are allowed but only those that, presumably as AdCann and the rules for Canada say, only promote “brand preference” and “informational” content, meaning there will be no conversion ads for cannabis products for now.
AdCann included a few samples from Canada to show how this is typically done:
The updated policy also so far only indicates that cannabis “including CBD– cannabinoids” may be advertised. It does not mention THC or cannabis-related products and services. The latter two appear on the update from AdCann, and it’s unclear where this information was retrieved.
What’s clear though is that advertisers will need to be pre-authorized by Twitter. The steps for pre-authorization are also absent — all you get is an unlinked “Contact Twitter if you are interested in this option” at the end of the policy — but, the approval process would likely be a series of checks for legitimacy and whether the advertiser is “licensed by appropriate authorities.”
Information for this story was found via AdCann, Twitter, and the other sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
