Twitter is making moves to capitalize on the growing popularity of the cannabis industry. Twitter officially announced that they will be allowing cannabis and CBD related promotional content on their platform. On February 15th, 2023 Trulieve made history as the first cannabis company to launch an advertising campaign on Twitter.
The news came on the heels of Twitter’s previous stances on cannabis related advertisements, which were previously prohibited. Twitter had previously set a policy that any company that purchased ads related to cannabis or CBD had to meet the company’s requirements for legitimate businesses.
Under the new policy, businesses will be required to only promote products and services that are legal under applicable U.S. federal and state laws. This means that companies that operate in states where cannabis and CBD products are legal will be able to advertise on the platform.
In addition to the requirements for companies to remain compliant with U.S. federal and state laws, Twitter will also require advertisers to be licensed and certified with the applicable governing body in their state. This requirement is meant to ensure that all advertisements are accurate, truthful, and not misleading. Additionally, advertisements may not appeal to children, include minors or pregnant women in the ads, or depict anyone under the influence.
Although the news is still new, the cannabis industry believes that the move by Twitter will help to legitimize the industry and open up the potential for companies to leverage their advertising platforms to reach new customer bases. As more and more states legalize cannabis and CBD products, this type of social media ad buys are only likely to increase. This could lead to a “green rush” of companies rushing to advertise their products on social media sites like Twitter.
The initial reaction to the news has been very positive and could potentially indicate that other social media sites will soon follow suit and begin allowing cannabis and CBD-related advertisements. It remains to be seen how the industry will respond, but for now, Twitter has taken an important step in further legitimizing the growing cannabis industry.
