Google, Bing, and Facebook Ban Marijuana Industry Advertisers

Marijuana-related businesses will have to find other websites to advertise their now legalized businesses on because Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter and other major websites are not going to allow marijuana-related businesses to advertise.

Marijuana industry businesses, such as dispensaries, marijuana doctor offices, attorneys, and others are being forced by these websites’ anti-drug policies to advertise with marijuana-friendly websites, such as Hemp American Media Group, which has a network of high-traffic websites that provide advertising specifically for the marijuana industry.

Even in states such as Colorado and Washington where marijuana is legalized, similar to alcohol and tobacco, the website giants are going to keep their current (unreasonable and biased) drug policies for advertising.

“If Google and Facebook can target alcohol ads to adults, they should be able to target ads to adults about a less harmful substance like marijuana in states where it is legal,” told Mason Tvert, of the Marijuana Policy Project to The Huffington Post. “Such an arbitrary and hypocritical decision is not going to sit well with a lot of people who utilize these websites.”

Facebook’s Advertising Guidelines state that “Ads may not promote or facilitate the sale or consumption of illegal or recreational drugs, tobacco products, or drug or tobacco paraphernalia.” Twitter’s policy is similar in stating it prohibits the promotion of “drugs and drug paraphernalia globally.” And Google’s official policy does not allow for the “promotion of illegal drugs, legal or synthetic highs, herbal drugs, chemicals and compounds with psychoactive effects, drug paraphernalia, or aids to pass drug tests.”

These anti-drug advertising policies aren’t exclusive to Google, Facebook and Twitter either. Many other major search engines, such as Bing and Yahoo, also ban drug-related advertisements on their websites, and go on to specifically state “recreational” drugs as part of that ban.

With pro-marijuana laws quickly changing throughout the world, it is only a matter of time until these website giants and others begin to allow for medical and/or recreational marijuana advertisers. Until then, marijuana businesses will be forced to find other high-traffic websites that allow marijuana-related advertising.