Meta Opens a Narrow Path for CBD Advertising, With Certification and Permission Required
Meta’s July 2023 advertising update created a limited route for certain CBD businesses to advertise on Facebook and Instagram—but it did not amount to a broad relaxation of cannabis advertising rules.
In its announcement of the CBD and Related Products policy, Meta renamed its previous “Hemp & Related Products” category and expanded it to cover some legally permissible, non-ingestible CBD products in the United States.
Under the revised policy, advertisers may promote or offer the sale of eligible CBD products only if they are certified by LegitScript, obtain written permission from Meta, and comply with applicable laws, industry codes, and Meta’s advertising requirements. The permitted CBD advertising is limited to the United States, and ads may not target people under 18.
The update also removed the need for written permission for two narrower categories of advertising. Businesses may advertise hemp products that contain no CBD and no more than 0.3% THC in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, provided the products and ads comply with local rules. Advertisers may also publish educational material, advocacy, or public-service announcements about CBD and related products, as long as the ads do not offer prohibited products for sale.
The 0.3% threshold reflects the federal definition of hemp established by the 2018 Farm Bill. The U.S. Department of Agriculture explains that hemp is cannabis and its derivatives containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis. That federal classification does not, however, make every hemp-derived product lawful for every use.
In particular, the Farm Bill did not remove the Food and Drug Administration’s authority over products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. The FDA says that CBD products remain subject to the agency’s existing rules for foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and drugs. The agency also maintains that CBD and THC products generally cannot be marketed as dietary supplements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Meta’s restrictions therefore remain significant. Ads may not promote THC products or cannabis products containing related psychoactive components. The policy also does not authorize unsupported medical claims, and certification does not guarantee that an individual ad will be approved. LegitScript’s requirements include reviews of product compliance, labeling, testing, and marketing practices.
The change followed a series of gradual policy adjustments across major social platforms. In February 2023, Twitter—now X—said it would allow certain cannabis advertising in the United States under stricter conditions, including advertiser licensing, platform authorization, geographic limits, and age restrictions. X’s advertising-policy update log continues to describe cannabis advertising as permitted with restrictions.
Meta’s move was consequently better understood as a controlled exception than as an endorsement of cannabis commerce. It gave compliant CBD companies a potential paid-advertising channel while preserving bans on psychoactive products, ingestible CBD sales, underage targeting, and marketing that conflicts with federal or state requirements.
