Social Media

Hemp and CBD product manufacturers and sellers are blocked from three fewer advertising channels after Meta Platforms Inc.—parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—updated its advertising policies. But don’t get too excited. Significant restrictions still apply. Under the new policy, advertisers need written permission from Meta to promote or sell noningestible CBD products that contain less than 0.3 percent THC. Products containing more THC than allowed under federal law, those with psychoactive properties (i.e., delta-8), and ingestibles (edibles, tinctures, capsules,… Read more.

Cannabis companies cannot buy advertising or otherwise sponsor streamers on the popular online streaming platform Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, after the company updated its branding policies earlier this month. Notably, Twitch’s new branded content policy does allow for the promotion of alcohol products but they must be “marked as mature content” on the platform. Twitch does allow users to consume cannabis on-stream so long as the person streaming is of-age and located in a place where cannabis has been legalized… Read more.

Brands rely heavily on social media to raise awareness. With relatively low overhead costs and the potential for considerable reach, a robust social media strategy is crucial for sustainable growth. Compound that with the fact that nearly half of industry operators have an annual marketing budget of less than $50,000, it’s clear social media is a must. But the relationship between cannabis and social media is fraught, filled with drama and intrigue at every twist and turn. Things seem to evolve… Read more.

Twitter might have further eased its rules for cannabis advertising, but the changes don’t seem to have made it any easier for marijuana businesses to take advantage of the social media platform’s wide reach. Regulatory red tape, Twitter’s unfamiliarity with the cannabis industry and cost are among the continued stumbling blocks. For example, Twitter requires advertisers to be a Twitter Blue or Verified Organization subscriber, which adds a blue check mark to their accounts. But it costs $1,000 a month… Read more.

Seven police officers with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department in Ohio are suing the rapper Afroman, legal name Joseph Foreman, over his use of home security footage from a raid they carried out at his house last September, FOX19 reports. The plaintiffs claim that Afroman has illegally profited off footage that shows their faces without consent in music videos and to generate social media engagement, which has resulted in “emotional distress, embarrassment, ridicule, loss of reputation and humiliation.” The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs are… Read more.

It didn’t take long for the first marijuana advertisements on Twitter to get shut down. On the first day the social media platform accepted cannabis ads in February, Hemper Co. Chief Marketing Officer Angel Ferrer set up an account and posted an ad for the Las Vegas-based company’s subscription boxes filled with a variety of cannabis accessories. Twitter disabled the account three hours later. “I wasn’t running anything that I thought should have been disabled,” said Ferrer, whose company sells… Read more.