Canada Bans Celebrities from Endorsing Cannabis Products

Celebrity endorsements of cannabis products is commonplace in the United States, but Canada is taking a different approach. After initial excitement from investors, the Ottowa legislators have decided that no celebrity endorsements on cannabis products will be allowed. This choice was in response to plans for Canada’s largest cannabis producers in the country, Canopy Growth Corp., to use Snoop Dogg as the face of its products.

Last October, Canopy Growth announced a branding agreement with the famous rapper. The company ended up throwing an opulent extravaganza in celebration of Snoop’s birthday and an estimated 1,000 other individuals were invited. Snoop’s branded cannabis line, Leafs by Snoop, was intended to take over the cannabis industry the way that Beats by Dre dominated the headphone industry. Naturally, Snoop looked toward the biggest companies in the industry, which included Tweed Marijuana and its parent company, Canopy Growth.

“The branding of the product rather than the experience, we would love to be able to put that everywhere,” Bruce Linton, CEO of Tweed Marijuana parent Canopy Growth, told BNN. “That is because we are trying to migrate people away from the black market or distilled spirits.” According to Linton, the first Canadian cannabis advertisements are going to be rather bland and straightforward depictions of practical information, such as the strength and purity of products.

Although most of the details such as banning celebrity endorsements, mascot characters and anything that appeals to children have yet to be finalized, Linton is not expecting regulators to allow any kind of celebrity involvement. However, he does expect some new methods and trends in cannabis advertising to surface. “What is going to be permitted, expected and required is for people to be able to distinguish things and a much stronger focus on education,” said Linton. “It is both good citizenship and good business if people consume responsibly, because if someone overconsumes in their initial trial they are unlikely to be a repeat customer.”

Despite the new advertising restriction, all other producers will face the same limitations, which will help establishes a level playing field for cannabis companies in Canada that plan on advertising.