Whether you’re a die-hard channel surfer or prefer to swap out streaming services month to month, you’ve likely seen a lot of ads for insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, fast food and shiny new cars. One thing you’ve never seen a single television commercial for, however, is cannabis.

Although over half of Americans live in a state where cannabis is legal, and 88% of U.S. adults support the green, cannabis advertising remains heavily restricted under federal prohibition and state-by-state regulations. 

Indeed, one of the biggest challenges brands face—in addition to inaccessible financial networks and heavy tax burdens imposed by IRS codes like 280E—is how to market cannabis products and services. 

What Are Cannabis Advertising Rules?

State laws vary: In New York, dispensaries can’t have a pot leaf neon sign in their front window, although bars can proudly display similar signage from various beer brands. In Illinois, cannabis advertisements aren’t allowed to depict consumption. In Massachusetts, cannabis brands need to press mute on colorful branding—bright hues and fluorescents are explicitly forbidden because they might appeal to children. 

The goal of these cannabis advertising laws isn’t to make it impossible for brands to attract customers. Most evolved from similar restrictions on alcohol, tobacco and prescription medications that were designed to protect public health. Many cannabis advertising regulations also stem from crackdowns on nicotine brands like JUUL vapes and Camel cigarettes that have faced legal repercussions from marketing to underage consumers. 

The origination of these regulations may be cold comfort for many cannabis brands, which already spend as much as 82% less on marketing as a percentage of revenue than brands in other CPG sectors. With a solid understanding of cannabis advertising rules, however, you can craft a marketing strategy that gives you more bounce to the ounce without ever once putting a picture of bud on a billboard.‍

What Does Advertising Compliance Look Like for Cannabis Brands?

Cannabis advertising restrictions have evolved over the past decade, as evidenced by the softening stance of some social networks toward both paid and shared cannabis media posts. In early 2023, X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) greenlighted paid ads by licensed cannabis brands as long as they only target of-age consumers in legal markets. 

The move may have been partly motivated by other changes that billionaire Elon Musk made after he purchased X that resulted in the platform hemorrhaging advertisers and users. But it was also a rebuke of the way that competing social platforms under the Meta umbrella—including Instagram, Facebook and Threads—have long held a reputation for brutally censoring cannabis-related content. 

The variability of where cannabis brands can and can’t advertise—and what limitations they must adhere to within sanctioned marketing channels—shows why cannabis marketing is as much a matter of compliance as how brands handle their finances, on-premises security or seed-to-sale tracking.

So if you aren’t allowed to depict the product or show it being used, or make any overt health or safety claims, and you’re limited in when and where you can advertise on television, radio, the internet and the urban space where your business operates, what’s a cannabis company to do? You get strategic about your marketing efforts.

Some types of marketing are easier for cannabis brands to navigate than others because there’s less red tape. Content marketing through owned media channels, for example, provides companies a little more freedom and control over the information they provide and how they communicate their brand values.

Owned media is only one part of a successful cannabis marketing strategy, however. It’s important to be educated on the advertising regulations in the jurisdictions where you do business and to know exactly what’s necessary to stay in compliance. Advertising regulations at the state and local levels can get very granular, and even certain wording or phrasing in advertising materials can run the risk of fines, pulling promotional swag, or even losing your cannabis business license.

Federal Cannabis Advertising Regulations

Many of the most stringent limitations on where cannabis brands can advertise stem from the plant’s current federal status as a Schedule I substance. The national illegality of cannabis means that brands in the industry—and particularly plant-touching brands—don’t have access to channels regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. Those include:

The FCC and Cannabis Advertising Restrictions

Of course, like so much of the current paradigm concerning the legal status of cannabis, there is some gray area between the laws on paper and how they’re enforced in practice. For years, the FCC only went so far as to warn radio stations against advertising illegal products—although the FCC hasn’t released any official guidelines or enforcement actions regarding cannabis radio ads.

That ambiguity isn’t just frustrating for cannabis dispensaries that would like to announce an upcoming sale or promotion similar to, say, local car dealerships or mattress retailers. It’s also a roadblock for radio stations that would prefer to have an additional stream of revenue from cannabis marketing budgets. 

The potential value of broadcast cannabis advertising is one reason that in 2022 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that specified the FCC cannot use federal funding to actively prevent cannabis brands from advertising on TV and radio in legal states. That legislation not only would have protected ads for THC products, but also those containing CBD, hemp and hemp-derived cannabinoids. 

Other attempts have been made, too, like Senate bill S.4622 and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (S.4591), which would protect radio stations from losing their FCC licenses if they aired cannabis ads. None of the above legislation has successfully cleared its political opponents, but these bills do show cracks in the dam between cannabis brands and the airwaves.

The FDA and Cannabis Advertising Restrictions

Of course, the FCC isn’t the only federal agency to regulate cannabis marketing messaging. So do the DEA, FTC and FDA. In 2019, for example, it was the DEA and FDA that shuttered nearly 50 websites advertising THC vape cartridges marketed by brands in the illicit market. 

The FDA’s objection to medical and therapeutic claims regarding cannabis stems from its definition of the term “drug.” The FDA explains: “As defined in section 201(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), ‘drug’ includes any product that is intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, prevent, or treat a disease, or any product (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body.”

Cannabis and Medical Claims in Marketing

The FDA has approved three cannabis-related drug products, including CBD-derived seizure medication Epidiolex and the THC-based drugs Marinol and Syndros, which are designed to counteract weight loss associated with AIDS and eating disorders like anorexia. However, the FDA itself notes that “to date, the agency has not approved a marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition.” 

That means that cannabis, CBD and hemp-derived cannabinoid brands cannot promise any health benefits or therapeutic benefits from their products. Although many consumers seek out cannabis products for help with sleep, anxiety or post-workout muscle fatigue and other physical and mental health conditions, cannabis brands cannot obliquely market their products the same way as a pharmaceutical company might advertise drugs like Ambien, Xanax or Ibuprofen.

Indeed, one of the FDA’s primary disputes with cannabis brands is overt medical claims made concerning products sold to medical cannabis patients. As natural as it may seem to market cannabis according to the wellness advertising playbook, these tactics ultimately render cannabis products “misbranded drugs” in the eyes of the FDA.

Cannabis and FDA Food Regulations

True to the department’s name, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also has oversight of public health and safety pertaining to how food is produced, tested and marketed. That oversight has also proved challenging for cannabis edibles brands that have mimicked popular mass-market snacks like flavored tortillas chips and popular candies as part of their product development and marketing strategy. In July of 2023, the FTC and FDA jointly warned cannabis brands producing such edibles with Delta-8 THC to cease and desist their marketing campaigns over concerns those products would have undue appeal to children.

It’s crucial for brands and their marketing partners to be fluent in cannabis terminology and to work with partner companies that can say the same. That’s particularly true if you’re working with a vendor on marketing and advertising efforts rather than handling them in-house. You need a strong background in both advertising and cannabis to avoid any messaging mishaps that could run afoul of federal law.

How Would Rescheduling Cannabis to Schedule III Impact Cannabis Advertising Regulations?

The complexity of federal oversight on cannabis messaging shows why it will take more than a single piece of federal legislation to meaningfully open the cannabis advertising frontier. As with the industry’s disadvantageous financial and tax landscapes, rescheduling or descheduling cannabis at the federal level is required to really change the game.

When cannabis is moved from Schedule I to Schedule III, there would be some immediate ripple effects for cannabis marketers. For example, it would be easier to place cannabis ads in newspapers, magazines and other print media that are often shipped via the United States Postal Service (USPS). 

Currently, the USPS has officially stated that “advertisements for the sale of marijuana are non-mailable” due to language in the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that prohibits placement “in any newspaper, magazine, handbill or other publications any written advertisement knowing that it has the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a Schedule I controlled substance.”

In the longer term, rescheduling or descheduling cannabis could clear the way for the FDA to change its guidelines regarding cannabis. One reason the FDA gives cannabis brands so little leeway is because the passage of the CSA in 1970 severely curtailed scientific and medical research into the plant for decades. 

While research into the efficacy of psychedelics from ketamine to psilocybin has continued to a degree, studies on the potential benefits of cannabis were (and continue to be) limited by the plant’s Schedule I status. Were cannabis moved to Schedule III, there would be fewer barriers for researchers to set up FDA-approved studies. And should that research change the FDA’s stance of the efficacy of cannabis, it could dramatically change what marketers can and can’t say.

State Cannabis Advertising Regulations

Of course, federal cannabis advertising restrictions are only one piece of the puzzle. Legal cannabis markets have variable regulations state to state. Some, like Colorado, work within the confines of FCC regulations to stipulate that “a Retail Marijuana Business may Advertise in television, radio, a print publication or via the internet only where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be at least the age of 21.” Meanwhile, Massachusetts sets that same bar at 85 percent. 

Illinois doesn't allow cannabis marketers to depict consumption. And Maine has a policy that, similar to those in most other legal states, forbids dispensary marketing from including signage or visual advertising within “1,000 feet of the property line of a preexisting public or private school.”

If you want to learn more about cannabis advertising laws in different states from Alaska and Hawaii to Florida, here’s the downlow:

Alabama

Legal Status: Medical

Medical cannabis was legalized in the Yellowhammer State in 2021—although as of 2024, patients are still waiting to make a purchase while various challenges get sorted out in court. In the interim, licensees are required to include “an advertising / marketing analysis and strategy, if any” in their business plan for verification with the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. 

That cannabis marketing strategy cannot “encourage, promote, or otherwise create any impression that cannabis is legal, therapeutic, or beneficial.” Unless Alabama cannabis brands plan to lean into some seriously ironic messaging, then, it’s all the more important to work with a cannabis-fluent marketing partner to ensure medical cannabis messaging stays compliant.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Alabama, see the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Rules and Regulations.

Alaska

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Alaska decriminalized cannabis long before most states, including California and Colorado. Like many states, Alaska’s cannabis advertising regulations largely concern packaging and limiting the appeal and accessibility of cannabis products to children. For example, the state specifically requires opaque, child-proof packaging and forbids text message marketing to minors. 

That doesn’t mean that the Last Frontier State hasn’t had to adjust some of its compliance laws concerning marketing in recent years, however. Citing concerns from the minority of Alaskans opposing legal cannabis, the Marijuana Control Board in 2016 forbade giveaways of free promotional merchandise.

For more information, see the statutes on Alaska’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office website and Grasslands’ blog on Cannabis Marketing in Alaska.

Arizona

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Arizona had 10 years of developing its legal medical cannabis market to prepare for adding adult-use regulations in 2020. But some elements of the Grand Canyon State’s regulations have still been up for scrutiny in recent years, like the 2021 proposed ban on billboards, depictions of cannabis leaves and buds, as well as the sponsorship of “athletic, musical, artistic or other social or cultural events” by cannabis companies. HB 2809 wasn’t passed, but it goes to show how advertising regulations are rarely set in stone—especially in emerging cannabis markets.

There are certain baseline standards included in Arizona’s cannabis marketing regulations that are commonly found in other legal states, too. Take A.R.S. § 36-2859 section 36-2859 for example, which stipulates that cannabis businesses must include their name and license number in all advertising collateral. 

For more information, see our blog on Cannabis Marketing In Arizona.

Arkansas

Legal Status: Medical

Arkansas legalized medical cannabis in 2016 with Amendment 98, although it was further amended the following year and dispensaries did not open until 2019. Medical cannabis companies in Arkansas are required to provide a plan that details their ability to “comply with requirements for the transportation and marketing of products” as part of the merit-based selection process. 

While many medical cannabis companies have lower-key advertising strategies than those businesses participating in adult-use markets, Arkansas does have some guidelines outlined in Code SB 411 § 20-56-305. These are similar to those found in many states, designed to protect minors. 

Others are a 180-degree turn from the rules in medical-only states like Utah that lean into the pharmacy-adjacent nature of medical dispensaries. § 20-56-305 specifically prohibits the use of signs and symbols “commonly associated with the practice of medicine or the practice of pharmacy, including without limitation a cross of any color [or] a caduceus…”

For more information on cannabis advertising regulations in Arkansas, see the statutes on the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Program website and our blog Cannabis Marketing in Arkansas.

California

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

California, famously, was ground zero of the medical cannabis movement in the 1990s on the heels of the AIDS crisis, though adult-use cannabis legalization came decades later. But developing the regulatory infrastructure for both medical and adult-use cannabis markets was a relative rush job, after the state allowed the medical cannabis program to proceed unregulated for many years. 

California’s bans on the depictions of or imagery featuring minors or models who appear to be under 21 years of age, for instance, is common from legal state to legal state. But rules like this also represent years of lessons (and lawsuits) drawn from other highly regulated industries like tobacco and alcohol. In part that trend stems from a strong desire by regulators to avoid past mistakes like the cartoony Joe Camel. But it also stems from the way many legal states initially place cannabis under the umbrella of one or numerous existing state agencies, including those that regulate alcohol and tobacco. In California, for example, it wasn’t until 2021 that the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) was formed to regulate everything from cultivation and manufacture to marketing and advertising. 

For more information, see the laws and regulations on the DCC website and our blog Cannabis Marketing in California.

Colorado

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

Like California, Colorado knew it would be setting precedent as one of the first states to legalize adult-use cannabis sales in 2012 (in addition to the 2001 approval of medical cannabis) and intentionally patterned some of its cannabis advertising regulations on those preexisting for the alcohol industry. 

Code of Colorado Regulations CCR 212-3 3-740 states: “Through the Marijuana Code the Colorado General Assembly provided further direction regarding mandated advertising restrictions. See § 44-10-203(3)(a), C.R.S. Voluntary standards adopted by the alcohol industry direct the industry to refrain from advertising where more than 28.4 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be under the legal age of purchase.” 

Also similar to California, Colorado has a dedicated Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue to oversee compliance, including marketing compliance. In 2021, the state also announced a distinct Cannabis Business Office funded by cannabis tax revenue to promote equity in the state industry. In addition to these departments, the City of Denver also sets its own cannabis policy, including that pertaining to marketing.

For more information on cannabis advertising regulations in Colorado, see the final adopted rules from the MED and our blog Cannabis Marketing in Colorado.

Connecticut

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

The Northeast cannabis scene is growing at a fast clip, putting pressure on states without a legal market to grapple with the ease of out-of-state purchases. Connecticut trailed behind neighbors like Massachusetts in opening up adult-use sales, which might explain one of the quirks of its cannabis advertising regulations—no cross-border marketing. 

Substitute House Bill No. 5329, Public Act No. 22-103 states that “No person other than the holder of a cannabis establishment license issued by this state shall advertise any cannabis or services related to cannabis in this state.” That means a Massachusetts cannabis brand can’t set up a billboard by the I-91 / Highway 5 interchange in Enfield, for example. 

Speaking of billboards, that’s another Connecticut regulation. While the usual rules about outdoor signage apply, requiring the advertiser to provide “reliable evidence that at least ninety per cent of the audience for the advertisement is reasonably expected to be twenty-one years of age or older;” there’s an extra caveat, too. Cannabis brands in Connecticut cannot “Engage in any advertising by means of an electronic or illuminated billboard between the hours of six o'clock a.m. and eleven o'clock p.m.;” past the reasonably assumed bed time of most minors.

For more information, see the Connecticut state website and our blog Cannabis Marketing in Connecticut.

Delaware

Legal status: Medical

Cannabis advertising in Delaware is quite limited, in part due to the limitations of a medical-only market. Chapter 49A of the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act, for example, states that “no person may advertise medical marijuana sales in print, broadcast, or by paid in-person solicitation of customers.” Online cannabis advertising and marketing are permitted, within those limitations.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Delaware, see the Delaware Code online. 

Florida

Legal status: Medical

Florida is a high-profile state in the national cannabis legalization conversation, despite Florida having only medical markets currently available—though adult-use is on the ballot in November 2024. Florida’s status as a battleground state in a key election year, as well as the politicization of cannabis in the Sunshine State and in Congress have all contributed to the state’s significance as a bellwether in recent years.

That said, Florida’s medical cannabis advertising laws are pretty standard for medical-only states. For instance, Florida stipulates that medical cannabis treatment centers cannot advertise in publicly visible places, except for the dispensary’s sign. Business brand names and logos must not target children, or “promote recreational use of marijuana.” Medical cannabis treatment centers, however, may advertise online as long as those digital marketing efforts are opt-in and do not target minors.

For more information on cannabis advertising regulations in Florida, see the Florida Statutes and our blog Cannabis Marketing in Florida.

Hawaii

Legal Status: Medical and Decriminalized

As the first state to legalize legislatively rather than through ballot initiatives decided by state voters, Hawaii approved medical cannabis in 2000. While recreational use remains illegal, the state has also decriminalized cannabis possession of 3 grams or less. 

Hawaii’s medical cannabis packaging requirements entail being child-resistant and opaque so the product is not visible, uses black lettering on a white background, no graphics or images, and is clearly labeled with a medical-use only warning that further notes:  “Not for resale or transfer to another person.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in Hawaii, check out the state’s rules and regulations, as well as our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Hawaii.

Illinois

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Illinois became the 11th state to legalize cannabis in 2019, and adult use and possession became legal Jan. 1, 2020. In addition to outlining possession limits for flower, concentrates and infused products as well as social equity measures, HB 1438 also established advertising regulations for medical and adult-use markets in the Land of Lincoln.

Those include a ban on pot leaf or cannabis bud imagery in advertising, cannabis ads on public transit vehicles and shelters, or other “publicly operated property.” Interestingly, Illinois also has provisions for retailers about certain deals and promotions. 

Illinois cannabis legislation stipulates that “a dispensing organization shall not: Sell cannabis, cannabis concentrate, or cannabis-infused products in combination or bundled with each other or any other items for one price, and each item of cannabis, concentrate, or cannabis-infused product must be separately identified by quantity and price on the receipt.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in Illinois, check out the Public Health

(410 ILCS 705/) Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Illinois.

Kentucky

Legal status: Medical

Senate Bill 47 legalized medical cannabis use in the Bluegrass State in 2023. While dispensaries are not yet open for business and founders are still working on their license applications and cultivation facility designs, there is already some guidance on marketing for Kentucky cannabis brands. 

915 KAR 1:090 states that “cannabis businesses shall not advertise medical cannabis sales in print, broadcast, online, by paid in-person solicitation of customers, or by any other advertising device.” The only exceptions are that dispensaries can have a sign at their physical location identifying the business, be listed in business directories and trade publications, and sponsor health and nonprofit charity and advocacy events. 

Dispensaries can also have an “informational website and social media presence,” as long as it does not include material that appeals to minors or that misleads customers.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Kentucky, see the Kentucky General Assembly website.

Louisiana

Legal status: Medical and Decriminalized

The Pelican State legalized medical cannabis in 2015, although House Bill 819 later expanded the limits of that legislation to include a broader range of qualifying medical conditions. While adult-use cannabis remains illegal, possession of up to 14 grams has been decriminalized. House Bill 699 was passed in 2021, and in addition to decriminalizing cannabis it also provided guidelines for cannabis marketing in Louisiana.

Specifically, Louisiana medical cannabis retailers are prohibited from any and all advertising in “public media including newspapers, billboards, television, radio, social media, and internet advertising on any website other than the single site that identifies the business.

Louisiana also has a legal market for consumable hemp products, with its own advertising regulations. Those include a ban on medical claims on either hemp product labels or advertising materials. Hemp business owners must register products with the Louisiana Department of Health at least 90 days prior to engaging in marketing activities. Additionally, the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control issued a 2023 ATC Advisory and Regulatory Update stating that consumable hemp products cannot be advertised as “legal THC products” or as recreational cannabis.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Louisiana, see the Louisiana Department of Health website.

Maine

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational 

Maine has had legal medical cannabis since 1999 for a small range of approved conditions, but approved adult-use legalization in 2016. Since then, the Pine Tree State has adopted advertising regulations that are similar to other states—such as forbidding advertising within 1,000 feet of schools—as well as unique provisions. One standout is a rule against cannabis brands marketing on location-based devices such as smartphones. The only exception is an age-gated, opt-in app.

Many know Maine as an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise where activities like hiking, boating and motorcycling scenic thoroughfares like the Aroostook Scenic Byway are beloved pastimes for locals and visitors alike. Don’t expect to see cannabis advertisements that pair products with recreation in locales like Acadia National Park or the Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway—Maine also limits depictions of cannabis consumption during activities “considered risky under the influence."

For more information on cannabis advertising in Maine, check out the state’s Title 28-B Adult Use Cannabis Legalization Act in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Maine.

‍

Massachusetts

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Massachusetts has a long legacy in sports. The Bay State is home to the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics and New England Patriots, as well as homegrown athletes and famous pros including Nancy Kerrigan, Tom Brady, Bill Russell, Big Papi, Larry Bird, Doug Flutie and Aly Raisman. Don’t expect to see sponsor messaging up in smoke in the outfield of your next Boston Red Sox game, however. 

Cannabis advertising regulations in Massachusetts forbid cannabis brands to sponsor sporting events or advertising in connection with them unless 85% of the audience “is reasonably expected to be 21 years of age or older, as determined by reliable, current audience composition data.” Nor can cannabis brands market their products on schwag like clothing, cups, drink holders, apparel accessories, electronic equipment or accessories, sporting equipment, novelty items—so put away that T-shirt cannon.

For more information on cannabis advertising in Massachusetts, check out the state Cannabis Control Commission’s FAQ, in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Massachusetts.

Michigan

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Michigan’s cannabis marketing regulations are unique from most other states in the terminology lawmakers chose to use. Rather than using “cannabis” to refer to the plant in question, as most other legal states currently do, or the racially-charged “marijuana,” the Wolverine State uses the even more antiquated term “marihuana” throughout its regulatory statutes. 

For example, the Michigan Admin Code Section R. 420.507 states: “A marihuana product marketed or advertised under the MRTMA must be marketed or advertised as "marihuana" for use only by individuals 21 years of age or older.” This was derived from the federal Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, and would take formal action by the Michigan Legislature to revise to more contemporary language. 

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Michigan, see the state Licensing and Regulatory Affairs website, in addition to our blog Cannabis Marketing in Michigan.

Minnesota

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

How do you perform cannabis marketing without the public seeing the results? That’s the trick for medical cannabis manufacturers in the North Star State. Chapter 4770.800 of the Minnesota Administrative Rules for Medical Cannabis “must arrange displays of merchandise, interior signs, and other exhibits to prevent public viewing from outside the manufacturing facility and distribution facility.” 

Cannabis manufacturers also may not include “images of cannabis or cannabis-smoking paraphernalia; colloquial references to cannabis; names of cannabis plant strains; or medical symbols that bear a reasonable resemblance to established medical associations … subject to approval by the commissioner.” Brand names and product names are subject to approval by the commissioner, too—particularly if the brand name includes a strain name that may be likely to appeal to children, like Gelato or Girl Scout Cookies.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, see the Minnesota Administrative Rules and Grasslands’ blog Cannabis Marketing in Minnesota

Mississippi

Legal status: Medical 

All states with legal cannabis markets have stringent advertising regulations in place, but perhaps none as restrictive as those in Mississippi. The Magnolia State has such a complete ban on cannabis advertising and marketing that the state’s policy was challenged in court in 2023, though a federal judge dismissed the suit and ruled Mississippi’s stance is constitutional. 

Until that changes—which would likely depend on the evolution of federal drug policy—medical cannabis retailers are unable to engage in any marketing. The only exception is, “establishment of a website and/or social media presence that provides general information on the licensed entity’s contact information, retail dispensing locations, and a list of available products.” 

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in the Magnolia State, see the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program website. 

Missouri

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

Many states’ cannabis regulations are based in part on compliance laws for more established and proven highly regulated industries like gambling or alcohol, and Missouri is no exception. The Show Me State’s Article XIV Section 2 on cannabis legalization, regulation and taxation stipulates that any regulation concerning the advertising and promotion of marijuana sales “shall be no more stringent than comparable state regulations on the advertising and promotion of alcohol sales.” 

As Missouri transitions from a medical-only market to both medical and adult-use, additional advertising regulations were proposed in January 2023 under the Department of Health and Senior Services Division of Cannabis Regulation Title 19 CSR 100-1.010. Those regulations include specific definitions of advertising channels that include print, audio and video.

Title 19 also covers earned media in the form of “any editorial in any periodical or publication or newspaper for the preparation or publication of which no money or other valuable consideration is paid or promised, directly or indirectly, by or on behalf of any entity subject to these regulations.”

For more information on cannabis advertising regulations in Missouri, see the state regulations and Grasslands’ blog on Cannabis Marketing in Missouri.

Montana

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

Destiny’s Child had it right—in Big Sky Country, you can say a cannabis business name in non-electronic advertising, but you can’t mention “marijuana or marijuana products” unless no one is around you. That means that dispensaries such as Grizzly Pine, Bloom Montana or Top Shelf Botanicals can promote their brands, but can’t mention the product in question on outdoor signage, television or radio. Montana Rule 42.39.123 states that “advertising does not include branding, marketing, or packaging and labeling of marijuana and marijuana products.” Cannabis advertising rules in Montana also currently forbid the use of commercial mascots—whether they are “a live human being, animal, or mechanical device used for attracting the attention of motorists and passersby” like “inflatable tube displays, persons in costume, or wearing, holding, or spinning a sign.”

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Montana, see the state Cannabis Control Division website.

Nevada 

Legal status: Medical and Recreational

Take me out to the ball game—unless you’re a cannabis brand, of course. Nevada’s Cannabis Advertising Guidance stipulates that cannabis businesses can advertise at entertainment events only if it “is reasonably estimated that less than 30% of the persons in attendance are under 21 years of age” and at sports games only if all attendees are over 21 years of age. Because sports are designed to be family-oriented at the professional, semi-professional, and even collegiate levels, that effectively means that stadium advertising and arena marketing is off the table for weed brands.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Nevada, see the state’s Cannabis Advertising Guidance.

New Hampshire

Legal Status: Medical

New Hampshire Code Admin. R. He-C 402.23 stipulates that an Alternative Treatment Center (ATC)—that’s what this medical-only state calls its dispensaries—is prohibited from advertising its products or services except in the case of several detailed exceptions. Those include the use of age-restricted websites and social media platforms, as well as email marketing lists that do not include minors. 

One caveat that cannabis companies should be aware of is that New Hampshire not only forbids marketing cannabis to minors, it also says ATCs should not direct their advertising as “to persons 25 years of age or younger who are not qualifying patients or designated caregivers.” That’s a key detail that would be easy to miss and, if an operator fails to comply, could potentially lead to content compliance liabilities down the road. It’s nuances like this that make cannabis compliance software applications like Highlyte by Amnesia useful for cannabis companies navigating the complexities of cannabis advertising rules.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in the Granite State, see New Hampshire’s Advertising Restrictions.

New Jersey

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

New Jersey is no stranger to so-called “sindustries”—the Garden State is famous for gambling destinations like Atlantic City’s casinos, after all. It’s no surprise then that New Jersey patterned its cannabis advertising regulations on those for alcohol, gambling and tobacco. 

To that end, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act (the CREAMM Act) states that licensed cannabis businesses cannot advertise their services, products or cannabis paraphernalia without “reliable evidence that at least 71.6 percent of the audience for the advertisement is reasonably expected to be 21 years of age or older.” 

Interestingly, New Jersey does give cannabis businesses some leeway that many other states do not afford. Cannabis brands can advertise on TV and the radio, for example, but only between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. 

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in the Garden State, see the New Jersey CREAMM Act and Grasslands’ blog Cannabis Marketing in New Jersey.

New Mexico

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

The primary focus of New Mexico’s cannabis advertising rules is, as in many legal states, to protect minors from cannabis marketing and ban unfounded health claims in the interest of public health. Celebrity likenesses, the depiction of people under age 20 and mimicry of other products and brands is prohibited. 

Interestingly, however, New Mexico draws a distinction between branding versus marketing or advertising—and stipulates: “Branding is allowed without the required warnings and statements for advertising and marketing of cannabis establishments.”

So what is a “cannabis brand” in the Land of Enchantment? New Mexico defines it as “promotion of a cannabis establishment’s brand through publicizing the cannabis establishment’s name, logo, or distinct design feature of the brand.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in New Mexico, check out the N.M. Code R. § 16.8.3.1 in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in New Mexico.

New York

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

New York is a state with an outsize reputation, and the fanfare around the Empire State’s legalization of adult-use cannabis was equally proportioned. Although states on the West Coast were first to legalize and New York wasn’t the first on the East Coast to go rec, it’s already one of the hottest markets in the country—in one of the biggest media markets in the world. That puts all eyes on New York cannabis marketing regulations. 

The Office of Cannabis Management rules for advertising cannabis put neon colors off limits, as defined as “form of hue, saturation, and lightness, has a saturation value greater than 60%.” They also include a ban on “colloquial” references to cannabis “including, but not limited to, the words ‘stoner,’ ‘chronic,’ ‘weed,’ ‘pot,’ or ‘sticky buds.’” 

Like Massachusetts, New York also limits cannabis brands’ ability to advertise using swag merchandise, as well as freebie promotions, discounts and giveaways. Sure, that takes a lot of traditional marketing tactics off the table. But New York’s business scene has always been defined by enough moxie and ambition to get the word out even without bright colors and pop-culture slang.

For more information on cannabis advertising in New York, check out the OCM Marketing and Advertising Guidance in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in New York.

North Dakota

Legal Status: Medical and Decriminalized

North Dakota voters legalized medical cannabis in 2016 through Initiated Statute Measure 5, and in 2024 they will have a chance to consider adult-use legalization through the similarly named Measure 5. Currently and for the foreseeable future, North Dakota’s medical cannabis advertising regulations are similar to those in other medical-only states. 

Brand names and logos cannot depict cannabis plants or paraphernalia, use classic jargon like “grass” or “sticky icky,” or use the name of cannabis strains such as Cookie Wreck or Acapulco Gold. Medical cannabis brands in North Dakota can maintain websites with their operating information, however.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in the Flickertail State, see the N.D. Admin. Code 33-44-01-23. 

Ohio

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Ohio joined a block of Midwestern states in opening a legal adult-use cannabis market in 2024, adopting cannabis advertising regulations that discourage “advertisements that are false, misleading, targeted to minors, promote excessive use, or that promote illegal activity.” 

Rules also include a requirement that Buckeye State business owners change strain names that use common stoner slang or that are overly appealing to underage shoppers. That can be a complication for multistate operators in Ohio that must change their packaging and content marketing accordingly. But for local operators already investing in B2C consumer education, this element of Ohio’s cannabis marketing regulations doesn’t need to be too onerous.

For more information on cannabis advertising in Ohio, check out Rule 3796:6-3-24  for adult-use licensees in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Ohio.

Oklahoma

Legal Status: Medical

Oklahoma may not have a legal adult-use cannabis market (yet!) but it has already become a hot spot. As of 2021, Oklahoma ranked ninth in the country for cannabis industry jobs, and boasted more dispensaries than Colorado, Oregon and Washington combined. So how are plant-touching businesses drawing medical cannabis patients to those retail stores? 

Cannabis businesses in the Sooner State cannot engage in false advertising, which means no medical claims or promises of “curative or therapeutic effects” from products, as well as no misleading qualifiers that a product treated with pesticides is “pesticide free.” Last but not least, false advertising also includes “indication that the medical marijuana … is organic, unless the National Organic Program authorizes organic certification and designation for marijuana and marijuana products.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in Oklahoma, check out Title 442. Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Chapter 10 in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Oregon was the first state to decriminalize cannabis just three years after the 1970 passage of the federal Controlled Substances Act, but didn’t open its medical and adult-use markets until 1998 and 2014, respectively. Although the Beaver State has a reputation as a bastion of liberal policy, Oregon has gone back and forth on drug criminalization more than once over the years. If you’re trying to keep track of cannabis marketing laws in Oregon, we don’t blame you for seeking out the latest information.

Anti-drug advocates in neighboring Idaho will be happy to know that the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission restricts any advertising that encourages the transportation of cannabis products across state lines. Marketing rules also state that in addition to the usual kibosh on false advertising and medical claims, businesses cannot “assert that marijuana items or hemp items are safe because they are regulated by the Commission or have been tested by a certified laboratory.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in Oregon, check out the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s Chapter 845-025-8040 Advertising Restrictions in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Oregon.

Pennsylvania

Legal Status: Medical

Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis market stands out for its close adherence to federal guidelines on how cannabis products can be advertised and promoted. Section §1141a.50 of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana rules and regulations state that “Advertising by a medical marijuana organization … must be consistent with applicable Federal regulations.” To that end, Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program, operated under the Keystone State’s Department of Health, requires “that all promotional, advertising and marketing materials must be approved by the Department prior to use.”

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Pennsylvania, see the 28 PA. Code CHS. 1131-1230 and 1141a-1230a.

Rhode Island

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Rhode Island is two years into legal adult-use cannabis and nearly 20 into its medical market, but it’s still working out some of its cannabis advertising regulations. As recently as 2023, the  Ocean State’s Office of Cannabis Regulation forced a Pawtucket retailer to take down billboards near Interstate 95, only to turn around and issue new rules for hybrid retail license holders. 

The new law allows hybrid retailers to utilize billboards as well as other traditional media including ads in newspapers, magazines, direct mail, TV and radio—with some caveats. Like other states that have legalized cannabis, Rhode Island must adhere to FTC regulations on broadcast networks, and cannot depict cannabis consumption, encourage excessive intake or violate trademark law.

For medical cannabis dispensaries, however, billboards remain off limits, as do ads on public transit, “adopt-a-highway” sponsorships or any other marketing tactics that would be visible from public thoroughfares.

For more information on cannabis marketing regulations in Rhode Island, see the Office of Cannabis Regulation and Advertising Guidance for Hybrid Licensees.

Utah

Legal Status: Medical

The Beehive State is known for some of the most stringent alcohol regulations in the country. Utah only just raised its alcohol-by-volume (ABV) limits to 5% from 4% in 2023—the same year the state lowered legal blood alcohol limits for motor vehicle drivers. While most states clock drivers for a DUI at .08%, in Utah the threshold is just .05%. So it should be no surprise that Utah also takes a narrower stance on its medical cannabis advertising regulations than other medical-only states.

Unless a medical cannabis pharmacy is promoting its name and logo, operating hours, location, available services (including home delivery licensure) or associated personnel, best practices or B2C educational materials, that pharmacy cannot advertise anywhere, in any type of media. 

So much for the state motto of “Industry.” While it’s hard for plant-touching businesses to get the word out to customers, there are still options for content marketing and marketing automation without risking noncompliance.

For more information on cannabis advertising in Utah, check out Title 4, Chapter 41a-108, Section 109 of the Utah Code, in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Utah.

Vermont

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Vermont might be more famous for Robert Frost and maple syrup than cannabis, but in just two years the Green Mountain State grew its retail market by 67% more than what the Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office projected in 2022. Many of Vermont’s marketing regulations are quite standard for medical and adult-use states—including adherence to FTC regulations, a ban on depicting minors in advertising or advertising directly to minors and rules against unsubstantiated health claims. 

For more information on cannabis advertising in Vermont, check out the Vermont Cannabis Control Board’s Advertising Guidance, in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Vermont.

Washington

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational

Cannabis legalization was a long, winding process in Washington, with a nearly two-decade long gap between voters approving medical cannabis in 1998 and when legal retail medical sales actually launched. Like Colorado, which beat Washington to the punch with legal recreational cannabis (by six months), the Evergreen State’s cannabis marketing regulations became something of a foundational text for legal states that followed.

That means Washington’s cannabis advertising laws might look pretty familiar after reading many of the state descriptions above. You know the drill—make sure packaging has the required warning labels, limit marketing on broadcast media, don’t promote overconsumption or consumption by minors and avoid promotional giveaways. That said, brands can host tours and take advantage of event marketing and brand activations as long as they don’t issue coupons or use objects “such as toys, inflatables, movie characters, cartoon characters suggesting the presence of a child, or any other depiction or image designed in any manner to be likely to be appealing to youth.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in Washington, check out the state legislature’s WAC 314-55-155, in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Washington.

Washington D.C.

Legal Status: Medical and Recreational (No Sales)

Washington D.C. has always been an in-between kind of place—more than a city, not quite a state, and with an equally complicated legal landscape for cannabis, to boot. Essentially, although voters cast their ballots in favor of Initiative 71 in 2014, Congress continues to block adult-use sales after begrudgingly authorizing the District’s medical cannabis program in 2013. 

Over a decade later, however, that medical cannabis program isn’t exactly up and running, which has given a foothold to legacy operators. That leaves D.C. in a weird legal gray area regarding cannabis that’s made even stranger by competition from neighboring legal states like Maryland, and Virginia, as well as the slow march toward federal rescheduling. 

So where does that leave cannabis regulations in Washington D.C.? Short and sweet. Until the medical and recreational markets are fully established and sanctioned by Congress, the District has few official rules beyond restrictions on sign advertising.

For more information on cannabis advertising in Washington D.C., check out the District of Columbia’s Municipal Regulations, in addition to our blog on Cannabis Marketing in Washington D.C.

West Virginia

Legal Status: Medical

Medical cannabis has been legal in West Virginia since 2016 thanks to Senate Bill 386. Like most medical cannabis states, West Virginia’s Office of Medical Cannabis regulations are primarily concerned with protecting minors and discouraging illegal activities and depictions of consumption. All advertisements must be submitted to the OCM at least two weeks prior to their deployment to verify compliance as well as confirm the presence of two required statements: “Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug,” and “Keep out of the reach of children.”

For more information on cannabis advertising in West Virginia, check out the Mountain State’s Technical Advisory Guidance.