Cannabis and CBD Advertising Attorney Authors Article for National Law Review

Internet Marketing Lawyer on Marijuana Advertising 2018

Cannabis advertising and marketing regulation lawyer Richard B. Newman authored an article for the National Law Review, a legal news journal by leading attorneys. The article, “The Year in Weed and CBD 2018,” addresses the 2018 Farm Bill, the Controlled Substances Act, the impact legislation’s impact on states and tribal lands, an conflicts between state and federal policy.

Cannabis Advertising Regulations

The feature discusses marijuana and CBD oil advertising and marketing legal regulatory considerations, including specific issues that impact Internet marketers. It discusses the dangers of making disease prevention claims, the need to conduct reasonable due diligence upon retailers and producers, recent judicial developments, publisher and intermediary website operator liability, and state-legal recreational and medical marijuana programs.

Richard considers that recent lack of cannabis-related advertising regulatory inactivity by the Federal Trade Commission and on the state level, and offers opinions how to minimize liability exposure.

Industry Ad Standards

Just because it may be legal to produce and sell it, that does not mean that advertising cannabis and related products is not a bit more complicated.

The piece discusses cannabis advertising standards provided by the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. It compares those standards to the California Business and Professions Code, considers required disclosures and prohibited content, highlights prohibitions on false or misleading statements, and standards governing digital advertising.

New York Moves to Legalize Marijuana

The article concludes by discussing recent efforts by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to push to legalize recreational marijuana in 2019, a move that could generate more than $1B in annual retail sales.

“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all,” Cuomo recently stated. Recent reports indicate that lawmakers have showed no signs of slowing their efforts to advance regulatory proposals to legalize marijuana for recreational use by adults.

Approximately ten states and the District of Columbia has legalized adult use of recreational marijuana.  A New York State Department of Health Study recently concluded that a regulated marijuana program enjoys broad support and would have significant health, social justice and economic benefits.

Cannabis and CBD Advertising on Social Media

Recent cannabis advertising developments on various social platforms are worth noting. It will be interesting to see how, if at all, these policies develop in the coming months.

Pinterest permits adverts that promote hemp and CBD-only byproducts of cannabis that do not contain any THC. Snapchat bans cannabis ads. Twitter’s advertising policy is to exclude advertisements about recreational drugs.

Facebook. Facebook’s advertising policies permit marijuana advertising via cannabis-related pages in limited circumstances. Businesses must be verified and receive a colored verification symbols. Stringent standards must be complied with.

Of course, marketers must ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as social media platform policies.

If you are interested in learning more about this subject or would like to review your cannabis and CBD oil marketing practices, please contact the author at (212) 756-8777 or rnewman@hinchnewman.com.

Richard B. Newman is a cannabis and CBD marketing and advertising lawyer at Hinch Newman LLP.

Attorney Advertising. Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. Do not rely on any information contained herein without consulting with an attorney.