Meta-owned social media platform Threads refers users to “get help” finding drug treatment resources when searching topics “marijuana” and “psilocybin” but searchers for other drugs such as “alcohol” bring up no warning message.
When searching the words “marijuana,” “psychedelics” or “fentanyl users are met with the message: “This May Be Associated with the Sale of Drugs. The sale, purchase, or trade of illicit drugs can cause harm to yourself and others and is illegal in most countries. If you or someone you know struggle with substance abuse, you can get help through confidential treatment referrals, prevention, and recovery support.”
Users are then given an option to get help from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) or “see results anyway.” Other drug terms like MDMA, peyote, Vicodin, Percocet, Adderall, Xanax, meth, heroin and DMT bring up the message as well. The app’s filter doesn’t trigger when the terms “cannabis” and “ayahuasca” are searched and it’s not clear why those terms are treated differently, but cannabis could also refer to federally legal hemp which may explain the distinction in that case. Meta allows for the advertising of hemp and related products according to company advertising policy, but the policy states they do not “promote or offer the sale of THC or CBD.”
Twitter took a similar step in 2020, warning users about searches for cannabis and “marijuana” specifically as part of a partnership with SAMHSA, with alcohol and tobacco also being excluded from the search restrictions. The practice was suspended when Elon Musk took over the social media platform which went on to update its cannabis advertising restrictions. As more states continue to legalize recreational cannabis, cannabis advertisers are beginning to experiment with paid ads on the various platforms that allow for it.
In February 2023, Twitter became the first social media platform to allow cannabis-related ads in the United States. Up until the rule change, only CBD topical brands were allowed to advertise on Twitter. Some of the restrictions advertisers must adhere to include advertisers must be licensed by the appropriate authorities, and pre-authorized by Twitter; advertisers are responsible for complying with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and advertising guidelines; and advertisers may only target jurisdictions in which they are licensed to promote these products or services online.
“This is a big moment, as a major advertising platform is making the decision to treat cannabis like any other consumer products category,” said Luke Droulez, VP of Marketing at PAX. PAX was among the first brands to advertise cannabis-related content on Twitter. “We’re excited to be among the first of Twitter’s cannabis advertising partners and be able to engage customers more directly. After decades of prohibitionist propaganda, there is an opportunity to destigmatize and normalize the plant and its use.”
In April, the platform again made changes to its cannabis advertising rules, allowing for packaged cannabis product ads to run on the platform. The new changes in April also fixed some of the features advertisers were having with issues with, such as radius targeting and conversion tracking. Twitter also added additional medical and adult-use cannabis markets to the platform.
“Going forward, certified advertisers may feature packaged cannabis products in ad creative,” Twitter said in a post on its website. “They may also continue responsibly linking to their owned and operated web pages and e-commerce experiences for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services.”
A new competitor to Twitter developed by Meta, Threads received 10 million signups within the first seven hours of launching the app and reaching 30 million registered users by the next day. The app is billed as a text-based of Instagram, Meta’s photo-sharing app.
