According to rules in the state of Washington, even though recreational marijuana has been legal for six years, marijuana companies are still not allowed to make social media posts that appeal to young people.
A new study reported in JAMA Network Open, has found that many of these rules are being ignored by some companies. Researchers have scrutinized 1,027 posts by marijuana companies in Washington to find that 137 promoted cannabis as having therapeutic benefits, while 17 encouraged overconsumption and nine used images that appeal to teens.
“We are in the early days with marijuana legalization and are figuring out what policies will be, particularly with respect to advertising and promotion,” said lead author of the study, Dr. Megan Moreno.
Moreno is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She added, “The goal is to prevent teen marijuana use. And we know its use is linked to marijuana exposure. So we’re trying to limit their exposure to content that promotes or glorifies marijuana use.”
Moreno and her colleagues analyzed posts on Facebook and Twitter from the business pages of six recreational marijuana companies in Washington to see how often they adhered to state regulations as part of the study.
