Cannabis Specific Guidelines

General Restrictions

Cannabis shall only be allowed to be advertised in the United States at this time and following the full guidelines stated on this page.

Hemp is a special category at this time. Due to the executive order signed by the President modifying the Farm Act, hemp has been removed from the Schedule I controlled substances list and has no restriction when it comes to advertising on a federal level. On a state level, it follows the same advertising restrictions as any other cannabis product.

Any advertisement to be run has to be approved on a case by case basis, taking into account the amount of the investment and the potential risk to the company.

If a campaign is preliminarily approved, the creative will be sent to legal for their review of the content and make sure it adheres to the applicable law and geographic standards.

After the creative is approved and the campaign is ready to be run, it shall only be run on publishers included in a limited whitelist and geographically limited to one state only at a time. At no point in time shall there be any campaign running in multiple states.

All advertisements have to be truthful and cannot be misleading in any way. Any claims must be appropriately substantiated.

The content cannot use contradictory information.

Content cannot use any messaging that makes people think the product came from a different location than where it actually originated from.

Ad content should not encourage anyone under the age of 21 to use cannabis products.

Ad content cannot offer or give away any quantity of cannabis or cannabis related products or accessories as part of a promotion or any other commercial activity.

Ad content cannot make untrue claims about how products or cannabis in general can have any kind of effect on a person’s health.

Ad content cannot be attractive to children.

Landing page must include an age gate to ensure compliance with laws.

Advertisements may not depict any form of consumption or promote overconsumption.

Ad Content may not depict any part of the cannabis plant, including the bud or the leaf.

No advertising shall be allowed in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, DC, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, Rhode Island.

For any other state, Advertisers must comply with the general guidelines above and any additional guidelines stated below for specific states.

States Restrictions

Michigan

Any advertiser promoting these products must be properly licensed in the state of Michigan.

California

Requirements:

All content needs to include the licensee responsible for it in a legible and conspicuous manner, including the license number.

Ads cannot be shown if at least 71.6% of the audience is not expected to be aged 21 or older. To determine this percentage, there must be reliable and current audience composition data from the media publisher.

Advertising cannot be done through individual communication or through any type of dialogue that the advertiser controls, i.e. no chatbots.

Advertisements cannot cross California borders at any time.

Colorado

Requirements:

No deceptive, false or misleading advertisements shall be permitted.

Advertisements shall only be placed on properties where there is reliable evidence that no more than 30 percent of the audience for the internet website is reasonably expected to be under the age of 21.

Targeting of out of state persons prohibited.

Advertisers may not utilize language that asserts its products are safe.

Advertisers may advertise that its products have been tested by a Retail Marijuana Testing Facility but, shall not assert that its products are safe because they are tested by such authority.

No banner ads shall be allowed.

No content that targets or attracts minors under the age of 21, including but not limited to cartoon characters or similar images.

Advertisers shall not engage in advertising via marketing directed toward location-based devices, including but not limited to cellular phones, unless the marketing is a mobile device application installed on the device by the owner of the device who is 21 year of age or older and includes permanent and easy opt-out feature.

Shall not utilize unsolicited pop-up advertising on the internet.

Washington

All advertising must include text that states that cannabis products may be purchased only by persons 21 years or older.

All advertisements must include the following warning:

“This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming

Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.

There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product

And for use only by adults 21 and older. Keep out of reach of children.”

New York:

Only medicinal marijuana can be promoted.

All claims included in any advertisement must be backed by research/science and no sources can be used out of context

Illinois

The audience must be 71.6% over 21 years old, as proven by reliable evidence.

Massachusetts

Advertising content must not depict the price of the product.

Advertisers must be licensed in the state of Massachusetts in order to advertise in the state.

Audience must be 85% over 21 as proven by reliable evidence.

All advertisements must include the phrase “Please Consume Responsibly” in addition to at least two (2) of the following warnings:

“This product may cause impairment and may be habit forming.”

“Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.”

“There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product.”

“For use only by adults 21 years of age or older. Keep out of the reach of children.”

“Marijuana should not be used by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.”

Additionally, all advertisements must include the following warning, including the capitalizations:

“This product has not been analyzed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is limited information on the side effects of using this product, and there may be associated health risks. Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding may pose potential harms. It is against the law to drive or operate machinery when under the influence of this product. KEEP THIS PRODUCT AWAY FROM CHILDREN. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. The impairment effects of edible marijuana may be delayed by two hours or more. In case of accidental ingestion, contact poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222 or 9-1-1. This product may be illegal outside of MA.”

Michigan

Advertisements must contain the following statements:

“It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of marihuana.”

“National Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222.”

“For use by registered qualifying patients only. Keep out of reach of children.”

Nevada

Advertisers must provide evidence of approval of creative provided by the state regulatory authority in order to publish on the Teads Inventory.

New York

Advertisers must provide evidence of approval of creative provided by the state regulatory authority in order to publish on the Teads Inventory.

Pennsylvania

Advertisers must provide evidence of approval of creative provided by the state regulatory authority in order to publish on the Teads Inventory.

Oregon

Advertisements must contain the following statements:

“Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.”

“For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older.”

“Keep out reach of children.”

Vermont

No additional restrictions.

Washington

All advertising content must contain the following warnings:

“This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming.”;

“Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug.”;

“There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product.”; and

“For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.”