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Writer's pictureJeremy Robbins

Social Media Censorship


A picture speaks a thousand words, especially those that are forbidden or on the fringe of

society. This has long been the case with cannabis and has in fact spurred a whole industry that photographed weed.


It started with High Times, which was originally sold with a solid cover over the outside and in the “over 18 section” of your local retailer. Countless spin offs, imitations and legitimate

magazines were created, then websites and Internet forums then finally apps for cannabis and enthusiasts.


We now live in an age of social media where everything is photographed and posted online with hashtags to identify and direct our audience reach. What happens when the social media turns against cannabis? This is an examination of such a case. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn are a few of the major social media platforms to occupy the internet with a constant feed of photos and video

posts on every imaginable subject- except cannabis.


Initially targeting companies that produced and processed, then retailers that sold it and now pretty much anyone that promotes cannabis. This is especially true with Instagram and it’s a lesson in acceptance and normalization of this plant.


They call them “community standards” that keep people from promoting bad things and it kind of makes sense. Promoting and selling things over the internet is just a desperate and sad thing that happens, especially unregulated or gray market goods.


As a nonprofit organization, we don’t sell anything but we do educate and promote a legal but still not fully accepted medicine. Social media is where we record and document our practices and processes, kind of a timeline of growth and development. No Sales, ever. We give meds away!


So what is happening on Instagram to those of us in the cannabis space? Well a lot of policing and a general inability to reach people or build your brand. It also isn’t very fun anymore. The time, energy and effort to photograph and document a subject and write a review to then have it removed or deleted by the platform is exhausting.


Some brand’s build thousands of followers and have professional posts that get deleted. The

removal of the hashtag #cannabis should have been the first clue, as well as tagging

manufacturers or retailers that promote the devils lettuce.


So we changed our tactics and no longer tagged folks, and some even included a legal

disclaimer with every post and still had issues. Many of us that don’t have a professional

connection to the plant feel this discrimination.


In our age of technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), Instagram filters all post

through the community standards and flags everything that looks suspicious. One of the big

things they recognize is the iconic shape of a cannabis leaf and so all leaf looking posts must

go.


In the case of CPPNW it was a profile picture that we use throughout our brand but IG flagged it due to the leaves. It’s been changed and all other offending posts were removed but CPPNW is still unable to engage with folks outside my followers network. No growth or new members is the death sentence for any business.


Due to the fact this treatment is pretty widespread many people have left and found other

platforms or just quit social media promotions altogether. But many of us have not, and also

believe that we are not violating “community standards” or using IG for the sale of goods.


We will continue to post and ask to be reviewed if something is flagged. We don’t use many

hashtags or tag producers/processors or retailers, just pictures for historical reference and

education. We are also aware that it can all go away at the whim of AI identifying a cannabis

leaf, and so we must be prepared for disappointment unless cannabis is accepted.

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