Cannabis Promotion on Social Media Is Evading Regulation

With increasing legalization of recreational cannabis for adults across the US, public health experts have raised concerns about the impact of an unintended consequence—increased youth exposure to cannabis promotional messages. This concern is based on previous work illustrating that youth are susceptible to persuasive alcohol messaging.(1) More than 25 studies have found associations between youth exposure to alcohol marketing and subsequent use and progression from experimentation to binge and heavy use.(2) It is prudent to assume the same association might hold for cannabis. In fact, the odds of past-year cannabis use increased by 48% with each additional social media platform where adolescents reported exposure.(3)

State regulations prohibit direct advertising of cannabis on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. So, exactly how do retailers post their messages on these websites? First, cannabis retailers create social media business pages to reach potential consumers. Second, anyone interested can engage with a business page by becoming a “follower.” Third, retailers engage individuals through interactive strategies, such as being able to like, comment, or share content, to achieve ongoing exposure to cannabis messages. Though technically indirect, this is still advertising.

A recent study published January 19, 2022, by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs analyzed the level of adherence by retailers to both restrictions on content and required content for cannabis advertising imposed by Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State.(4) Restrictions on recreational cannabis advertising include:

• Business practices such as offering discounts and promotions
• Modeling cannabis use or overconsumption
• Youth-focused messaging
• Health benefits of recreational use

Three types of warnings are also required as part of any cannabis advertising:

• Limiting cannabis use to those age 21 and over
• Avoiding impaired driving
• Describing health risks

Researchers evaluated a total of 2,660 posts over one year by 14 cannabis businesses. They found illegal discounts or promotions were present in approximately 35% of all posts and modeling overconsumption in 12% of posts. Required content regarding warnings was present in less than half of all social media posts.

I am not opposed to legalized non-medicinal use of cannabis by adults. In fact, I believe legalization, effective regulation, and taxation offer the best hope for reducing the underground market, providing products with verified content and testing for contaminants, reducing youth access, and funding programs to treat youth harmed by alcohol and other drugs, including cannabis. But I am not naïve enough to think the cannabis industry will do a stellar job policing itself. Entrepreneurs in every business do what entrepreneurs do, which is to find and take advantage of every financial opportunity afforded them.

Protecting youth from exposure to cannabis messaging requires clear, detailed and continuously enforced regulations governing cannabis industry behavior on social media. In the end, if regulations cannot effectively control youth access to cannabis messaging by retailers, then business pages may need to be outlawed. No one wants to take the extraordinary and problematic step of making business pages illegal for the cannabis industry. And Big Marijuana may vigorously fight such a prohibition as a curtailment of their freedom of speech. But some responsibility for striking a fair balance must also be borne by the cannabis industry itself and not solely by government regulators.

Cannabis legalization presents a challenge to public health (see my post “3 Ways the Cannabis Industry Jeopardizes Public Health” for more detail). Only a combination of clear regulations, backed by scientific evidence whenever possible, and restraint on the part of the cannabis industry can reach a workable solution. The ability to legally sell cannabis to adults is seen as a right by the industry, but it exists only as a privilege granted by each state’s citizens or their representatives. Contrary to many cannabis entrepreneurs’ instincts, it behooves them to work cooperatively with regulators’ advertising limitations to protect youth, as well as to protect the industry itself.