Cannabis is here and its becoming legal in more states each year. However, even with its acceptance, comes a stigma that it just can’t shake. Its stigma can only be rivaled by the lowest of industries such as hardcore porn.

 

Restrictions on their rights for advocacy and education

The cannabis industry is hampered in its efforts to get its message through on social media. According to the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), Facebook often times bans its members from sharing information about cannabis events and the NCIA has even faced discrimination in its own Facebook account.

The NCIA indicated that they could not advertise on Facebook a quarterly event occurring in Chicago. Problematically, groups like the NCIA, which advocate for legal cannabis, have their voices shut out at the most crucial times. When states and even the federal government are debating the merits or pitfalls of legalization, the cannabis advocacy groups are often times silenced by Facebook.  Facebook has gone as far as shadow banning certain cannabis group and blocking them from search terms.

When groups advocating for change are blocked from the largest social media platform, we have a freedom issue. But the problem does not pertain merely to advocacy, attempts to educate the public about cannabis have also been censored by Facebook.  In conversations I had with leadership of  NCIA, they indicated to me that state government entities in California and Massachusetts are sometimes denied access to Facebook, when they want to provide educational materials to the public.

It seems odd that cannabis, which is legal in Facebook’s home state of California, receives such alarming treatment.

 

Difficulty in financing its operations

It’s bad enough that cannabis’ ability to communicate is limited by the top social network, but it’s ability to finance its operations is even more restricted.

Unlike a hardcore pornography business, it can’t obtain bank financing and must rely on alternative and more expensive financing.

Because the federal government still considers cannabis illegal, a cannabis business can not utilize the banks for financing or utilize accounts to pay tax liabilities. Cannabis businesses need to pay their tax liabilities with hard cash. These factors leave the cannabis business at a severe disadvantage financially and make running their business severely inconvenient..

 

 It’s worse

After looking at this issue and seeing the barriers the cannabis industry faces, I can honestly say that we treat cannabis worse than we treat the hardcore porn industry.  Before looking at this issue I would say “we shouldn’t treat cannabis like its hardcore porn.” But to my surprise I underestimated the difficult treatment the cannabis industry receives.

In concluding, if the public chooses to make an industry legal and legitimate, then we as a public should not put up barriers to make it harder to run this as a business! And large private companies should not operate in a way to stigmatize these businesses. Just my thoughts for the day!