Are Facebook and Instagram Holding Back Cannabis Progress?

Facebook and Instagram and Weed

The reach and potential that lie with social media platforms in our present age and time cannot be overemphasized. With a considerable amount of the public heavily reliant on social media for much more than connecting with their acquaintances, this opens up a wide range of coverage that social media has for businesses. This is why the different social media platforms have allowed for the increase in the capacity of influencers and their ability to help promote businesses and brands. It is no surprise then that most businesses seek different ways to optimize their presence on social media in order to be able to portray their brands and properly reach their targeted audience.

Social media and cannabis

The cannabis industry is one that is gradually growing in terms of acceptance in different regions of the world. The impact of this is felt in the fact that a good number of states in the United States have legalized the use of cannabis for medical and recreational use. This is a great milestone give the fact that the federal government and the FDA still classify the beneficial natural product as a Schedule 1 narcotic drug of no medicinal value. The growing acceptance and prominence of medical marijuana have slowly proved otherwise as a good number of clinical researches are already underway. Particularly with respect to CBD which has shown promise in different anecdotal researches for a number of health conditions such as pain, inflammation, skin disturbances as well as aiding sleep.

With this necessary information and studies that are pivotal in changing the stereotypic view of a good number of the populace, it is then understandable why many cannabis brands will be reliant on social media. This is because through social media members have restrictions and regulations that surround cannabis on some social media platforms particularly Facebook and Instagram. The influence and reach of both social media platforms cannot be underplayed. Facebook connects a wide range of people across the globe and with the popularity of Instagram, you can be sure that a good percentage of people across the globe come there to connect and showcase their businesses. Instagram is owned by Facebook which explains why there are some similarities in terms of the terms and conditions guiding the platforms.

Due to the wide scope of activities that go on through the help of these social media platforms, the platforms take it upon themselves to censor information that may prove to be untrue and be of deleterious effects. By this, the social media platforms help to get rid of hate speeches, medical information that is untrue and can have a negative impact on the users of the platform. One notable example is the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen a flurry of different theories and information surfaces on social media which are contrary to common medical advice and clinical evidence. One worrying effect of this power held by such social media platforms is how this rule of theirs affect the cannabis industry and how it helps to delay its progress.

Cannabis is definitely making progress but it is still a long way from where it ought to be. One of the main factors that are helping to slow down its progress presently is the role being played by social media platforms. The illegal stance of cannabis in the eyes of the federal government places a lot of restrictions on advertising in the cannabis circle. With the absence of prominent billboards and ads on TV and Radio, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are the next logical place to seek consumers. However, the prohibition and restrictions being faced by cannabis brands on these social media platforms make this to be very hard. One confusing fact about the matter of social media platforms like Facebook is the limited amount of information that is available concerning their cannabis advertising policy.

For many cannabis brands on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, they stand to lose a lot if they are caught on the wrong side of the policies of these social media platforms. Apart from having posts deemed in violation of policies pulled down, such platforms also bear the risk of losing the considerable number of followers that they have managed to accrue over a long period of time. Such was the case of Emerald Exchange, a notable cannabis brand that lost thousands of its followers when its Instagram account was locked. The possibility of bearing such loss which invariably creates a bridge between such cannabis businesses and their consumers means social media platforms are largely halting the progress of cannabis. This has seen a good number of cannabis brands opt for the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and other different platforms to get the necessary information out there for consumers to see.

Marijuana Moment in 2018 stated that there are algorithms that are blocking the promotion of news and articles that have the word “cannabis” or “marijuana” in them. A good reason why many will believe this is being done is that the internet is available to everyone meaning that children too can have access to such information. However, when it comes to advertising in the cannabis industry, different steps and measures are well taken in order to ensure that the right set of people get the provided information. One is for cannabis brands to show a good level of professionalism online and to ensure that information is restricted to the accepted age of members of the populace.

Bottom line

The present situation of things with social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram is largely due to the stigma that cannabis has faced for a long period of time. This is gradually changing and this means that in no time a change is to be expected from these social medial platforms. The cannabis industry has come a long way and although the journey is still long the future looks bright and promising. Cannabis has definitely come to stay and stay it will.