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Facebook banned several marijuana businesses’ pages, even though they were from states where the drug is legal
BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Facebook is on an intense campaign against cannabis even when it is legal. The platform has recently taken down several pages of recreational marijuana businesses in Alaska which functioned legally. The social media platform has acted similarly regarding other dispensaries Arizona, California, New Jersey, and Colorado, and seems determined to show everybody the drug is bad even when it’s legal.
Promoting marijuana sale on Facebook does not follow the platform’s guidelines
At the beginning of July, six marijuana retailers from Alaska noticed how their Facebook business pages were suddenly blocked. The drug’s recreational use was legalized in 2015, but many retailers weren’t able to promote their products in the traditional way. This is why they turned to advertising on Facebook, since it seemed more permissive.
However, the platform is not really the friendliest place to promote recreational marijuana sale. The site’s policy is against advertising for cannabis, and this applies even to those states where the drug is legal, both medically and recreationally.
Marijuana pages in general are allowed on the platform, but they shouldn’t promote sales. After a recent scan, Facebook stumbled upon pages of medical marijuana dispensaries in California, and of several businesses in Nevada, which is about to start commercializing the drug. They scan periodically for such content after receiving complaints.
Business owners are asking for clear regulations to follow
Commercial activities regarding recreational marijuana are regulated in many states, including Facebook’s home state, California. Many of these businesses will seek promotion on social media, and will want to open pages. Facebook didn’t respond to how it is going to manage this situation.
Business owners are now asking for a clear statement of Facebook’s policy, with clear regulations and everything that might constitute a violation. They are eager to function legally everywhere, so they want to open Facebook pages according to all the platform’s rules.
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