Elon Musk has long been considered marijuana-friendly for many 420 Jokes (the number is slang for marijuana) and was famously videotaped during a podcast while smoking a mixture of marijuana and tobacco, known as a spliff.
Now, just a few months after buying Twitter for $44 billion, it has taken its biggest step yet in supporting the weed industry by opening up its social media service to more weed ads — outpacing rival platforms. On Wednesday, Twitter updated advertising policy to allow cannabis-related companies to run ads-with many restrictions-in countries where advertising is legal.
“Today, in certain US states, we have taken steps to relax Cannabis advertising policy to create more opportunities for responsible weed marketing — the biggest step on any social media platform,” Alexa Alianiello, who handles US ad sales and partnerships for Twitter, said. in a blog post.
Twitter’s larger weed ads are a move away from other major social media companies like Facebook-parent Meta, which has long banned such ads. The closest meta is to allow marijuana advertising for political campaigns and elections, and must be given a disclaimer, including those who pay for marketing messages.
Looser Twitter rules as more states legalize marijuana. Recreational use of marijuana is currently legal in 21 states; it remains illegal at the federal level. Twitter’s decision also comes as the cannabis industry faces economic turmoil that has rocked the stock prices of many publicly traded businesses and caused others to fail. Many cannabis companies, including retail and wholesalers, are suffering from competition from illegal sellers and high business costs.
However, the impact of Twitter’s policy change is unclear. The new rules come with restrictions that limit the types of ads allowed to the extent that most ads for most cannabis products are still banned on the service.
For example, advertisers cannot “promote or offer to sell cannabis (including CBD- cannabinoids).” An exception for topical, or non-ingestible, hemp-derived CBD products “contains equal to or less than the 0.3% THC threshold set by the government.”
Alianiello punctuates his blog post by citing examples of more common marijuana ads. “Going forward, Twitter allows advertisers to promote brand preferences and cannabis-related content for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services,” he wrote.
Ads for cannabis delivery services and accessories like vaping pens appear to be allowed under the new rules.
Additionally, under Twitter’s new rules, weed ads cannot target anyone under the age of 21, show people using weed products, or feature people who are intoxicated. Marketers are also prohibited from claiming health benefits or including celebrities or sports figures in their messages.
Finally, in order to advertise, companies must go through Twitter’s verification process and be approved. It is unclear how long the process will take.
Instead, Alianiello made Twitter a safe place for regular users to tweet about marijuana and discuss the topic with others. He also revealed how Twitter users tweet more about marijuana, as a topic, than anything else anyone with a Twitter account should know.
“As the cannabis industry has grown, so has the conversation on Twitter. In the US – one of the most influential cannabis markets – it is bigger than conversations about topics such as pets, cooking, and golf.1as well as food and beverage categories including fast food, coffee, and beverages,” Alianiello said.
He continued: “The cannabis space on Twitter is fun and exciting for users Tweeting about their experience using cannabis – for medicinal, health, or recreational purposes – as well as recommending brands, products, and store locations. The conversation also reflects where the cannabis industry is today: legislative / policy reforms , business development, and community impact.
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