Twitter becomes first social media platform to allow cannabis advertising

Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Twitter has become the first social media platform to allow "approved" cannabis companies to advertise their products in the United States.

Also Wednesday, Trulieve revealed it is the first cannabis company to launch ad campaigns on the platform.

Twitter announced its advertising policy shift away from a total ban on cannabis ads Wednesday on its website's "drugs and drug paraphernalia" page.

"We permit approved cannabis advertisers to target the United States," the company said before listing a number of restrictions that include "advertisers must be licensed by the appropriate authorities and pre-authorized by Twitter." Also, Twitter said "advertisers may not target customers under the age of 21."

Twitter also listed restrictions on what is allowed in its cannabis advertising content, which will run only in states where cannabis is legal and will not show cannabis product use.

"Not appeal to minors in the creative, and landing pages must be age-gated and sales must be age verified," Twitter added.

Companies can't use "characters, sports persons, celebrities or images/icons appealing to minors," the social media platform said. And they can't "use minors or pregnant women as models in advertising."

Additionally, Twitter said approved companies could not make any claims about the efficacy or health benefits of cannabis products.

Twitter's marketing policy change comes three months after billionaire Elon Musk completed his purchase of the social media platform for $44 billion. It also follows last month's announcement that Google Ads will no longer ban hemp and CBD advertising in California, Colorado, and Puerto Rico.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. announced Wednesday it would become the first multistate operator in the U.S. cannabis industry to advertise on Twitter.

"We proudly launched a multistate advertising campaign today to become the first company in the cannabis industry on Twitter," Trulieve said Wednesday. "As state-by-state cannabis regulations inform how operators can participate in the advertising space, we expect to follow in other legally approved states."

"Trulieve is very excited and encouraged by Twitter's decision to update its policies and allow cannabis companies to advertise across the platform," Gina Collins, Trulieve's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. "Having a global social media platform recognize our industry is another step forward in the normalization of cannabis in the United States."

"On behalf of Trulieve and the entire cannabis industry, thank you to Elon Musk for this historic policy change and partnership," Trulieve Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers tweeted Wednesday.

"The opportunity to advertise on Twitter means reaching more individuals and raising more awareness of the benefits of cannabis," Rivers added. "Onward!"