Most businesses use marketing to connect with new customers and stay relevant with existing clients. A common form of marketing is advertising, which today can be utilized via many avenues. Some industries, however, do not have the freedom others do regarding options. Often similar in terms of restrictions to the alcohol and tobacco industries, the cannabis industry is subject to a wide range of advertising regulations. State laws on cannabis advertising widely vary from ones that regulate marketing cannabis strains to marketing marijuana in general; this article explores some of these variances, which are current as of early November 2021.
Medical vs. Recreational Cannabis Advertising
As an obvious point, states where both medical and recreational cannabis remain illegal generally do not have specific rules around marketing marijuana as all associated information is not allowed. Currently, these areas include American Samoa, Idaho, Kansas and Nebraska. Further, many states are still working on their official stance, therefore, regulations are pending for either medical, recreational or both. These states are Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Texas. The states of Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont do not have regulations around advertising for cannabis.
The states with multiple regulations are Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington state. Common themes include bans on misleading information, very specific parameters concerning building signage, marketing cannabis strains individually, and not appealing to minors (those who are under 21 years of age). Several states also require approval of all advertising by state officials before launch.