Facebook blocks ads that mention CBD

If you are looking for it, you can find a version of almost anything: coffee, chocolate, vape, shampoo, masks, moisturizers, mints, pet treats – in short, just about anything. A survey conducted in January revealed that 65 million Americans had already tried CBD, with 63% finding it effective. he eventually became mainstream. A non-psychoactive derivative of the hemp plant, its effects are hard to pin down, but the CBD market is undeniable and is expected to reach $ 16 billion over the next six years. It has become a kind of cliché that if you have a problem that modern medicine does not seem to be able to solve, Someone & # 39; a will eventually offer you CBD.

On the other hand, Facebook still treats CBD as a contraband, this is not the case. Lacey Steffes owns and runs Spa Serenity, a small business located in Baraboo, Wisconsin that offers a range of CBD treatments. When she tried to publish an ad earlier this year featuring, in her memory, a marijuana leaf and the word "CBD", her advertising account was immediately disabled. "It was a Friday because I just remembered going home and telling my husband," I was fired from Facebook today, "she says. And he was like, "I do not think I've ever seen you that way. "Steffes was not sure what she would do next, but she knew she was annoyed."

And it's not just Steffes; Almost all users of CBD ads on Facebook have had a version of this experience. Monika Allen is a freelance writer who manages social media for a client in health and well-being. His client had planned to organize an open house with presentations from members of the local community. A proposed bid proposal related to CBD oil and its utility. They put an ad. "About five minutes after the announcement was made, his account was closed," says Allen. His appeals were rejected. Allen decided to follow one of Facebook's ad-creation courses to show that she really wanted to adhere to the rules of the platform – and then discovered that there was nothing in them in CBD oil. "They say that marijuana can not be promoted," she said. "And alcohol for different ages and things like that. But CBD oil is not THC.

Facebook's advertising policy makes no mention of the DBC, but a spokesman for the company has confirmed The edge that users are not allowed to post ads mentioning CBD or ingestible hemp, and that paying to promote publications mentioning these products is also not allowed. The only sign of this in company policies is a prohibition against "illegal goods or services", "drugs and drug-related products" and "dangerous supplements", the last of which is "as determined by Facebook in its sole discretion. "For Facebook, this" sole discretion "means that the CBD is treated the same way as any other marijuana derivative, a bizarre policy for those who know the excerpt well. And without any public mention of the issue, users can not know that they may be banned simply by announcing a spa treatment.

The de facto ban appears to have been in place for years, according to Jen Rudis, founder of the Wisconsin Wellness Society, Jenerate Wellness. In 2017, Rudis' clients came to learn about stress, anxiety and pain management – the kind of thing CBD is known to treat. Jenerate Wellness started selling CBD, which Rudis herself knew very well, as she has been working in the field of "alternative medicine and alternative medicine" for more than a decade. "I guess I was not 100% aware of Facebook's position," says Rudis. Rudis shared a picture of the CBD product on her shelf – and she noted here that she did not say it was effective – and posted it. It was a Friday. That night, she received a call from her marketing team. "I tried to log in to Facebook and my entire account was deleted. As if I had not lost my ads. They have deleted the entirety of my professional account – like pressing the delete button, "says Rudis. "No warning, no email. No, "you ruined everything", no slap for 30 days, you literally pressed the delete button, and all my business account disappeared. "

Facebook is currently facing legal action on these lawsuits, alleging common law fraud and deceptive advertising practices. The lawsuit was filed by Felicia Palmer, founder of one of the oldest hip-hop websites on the Internet. (She arrived at cannabis after being touched by breast cancer in 2016.) Facebook accepted Palmer's money to expand the reach of her publications on the DBC while she was promoting Cannaramic, an online summit organized by Palmer at the end of last month. At first, Facebook simply did not show the ads to users that Palmer wanted to reach. Then the company has fully disabled its ad account. According to Facebook, advertising has been blocked because "we do not allow advertisements promoting illegal, prescribed or recreational drugs". Palmer is represented voluntarily by David Holland, Executive Director of NORML, the National Organization for Marijuana Reform. Laws – and the trial is open to other plaintiffs. (At the time of going to press, Facebook had not responded to requests for comment.)

While Facebook treats CBD as a drug, the reality is much less clear. In abbreviated cannabidiol, CBD does not make you go up because it does not contain the psychoactive molecule THC. In the United States, cannabis is still considered an Annex I substance under the Controlled Substances Act – but the CBD exists in a legal gray area. Last year, Farm Bill lifted the federal ban on hemp production, which in turn legalized CBD oils as long as they did not contain more THC than hemp, the non-hemp variety. psychoactive Cannabis sativa. But how is Facebook supposed to know how much THC in a bottle of CBD is mentioned in an ad?

When the CBD comes under the control of the FDA, things get even more complicated. Under federal law, the compound is considered a prescription drug when added to food products. only Cannabis drug approved by the agency – Epidiolex, an anti-epileptic drug. This regulatory quirk that would seem to exclude a ton of CBD infused food, but the FDA usually does not take any action against producers of CBD based supplements. unless they make wild statements about the effect of their products on human health. (Think about: people who claim that CBD can cure Alzheimer's disease.) In summary: CBD is legal, sometimes when it is produced from hemp and does not appear in a product that makes the disease. Wild health claim. And that, remember, is only for the United States. It's hard enough for sellers to follow, not to mention a multi-billion-dollar global platform where users can download what they want.

But Facebook's problem is not simply that their interpretation of the legality of the CBD lacks nuance. This is largely a secret and leaves few useful call options. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the same email message, noting that CBD was subject to three distinct site rules: its community standards, its page-specific rules and its advertising rules. The CBD rules differ only slightly. Facebook's policy on regulated products (under community standards) explains that the site does not allow individuals or businesses to buy, sell or trade non-medical drugs, prescription drugs and marijuana. Although the CBD is not specifically mentioned in this policy, a Facebook spokesman said that hemp and CBD messages do not violating the community standards of the site if they are published without paid distribution. Palmer's lawsuit stated that she had paid to distribute a position, that is, when her account was deactivated.

Under Facebook's Page Policy, pages are not permitted to promote the sale of prescription pharmaceuticals and must be pre-approved for online pharmacy pages. The pages on hemp and CBD that are not managed by online pharmacies and that do not promote prescription drug sales are kosher, the spokesman confirmed. That said, Facebook's advertising policies prohibit the promotion of illegal, prescription or recreational drugs – including CBD and hemp products. The problem is that these regulations do not appear anywhere on the linked pages.

For now, the company seems to block any CBD promotion, which goes well beyond the requirements of federal law. Facebook does not mention its advertising guidelines for CBD, which most advertisers check before paying for an ad. It's impossible to come up with a policy outlining every conceivable offense (the platform has millions of businesses and many other ad purchases), but for anyone in that gray area that's the question the most important regarding the guidelines. Making mistakes has huge consequences, and the existing documents give no indication.

Although CBD-related legal issues are complex, it is difficult for users to reason with Facebook to recover their accounts. Allen, Steffes and Rudis all appealed against the measures taken against them. Allen said she's gone several times with Facebook before the company gives her a final warning and refuses to suspend her account. Steffes said that the experience had made him rethink his entire business strategy. "Accounts that show ads that violate our advertising policies are disabled," wrote a person named Clyde. "There are no other things you can do here. We do not support ads for your business model. Please consider this decision as final.

"I mean, it's like the government," said Steffes. "There is no recourse." In her first message to Facebook, she said she spent $ 42,000 on Facebook in the last two years. "It has no value for them. I understand that this is a multi-billion dollar business. But for me, for a small business with only one store, that's a huge amount of money. Steffes says she is satisfied with her new marketing plan, which involves fewer ads on Facebook.

Rudis hired the services of a Facebook consultant to help him appeal, which cost him several thousand dollars and many hours. It did not help. "I had to do it again," she said. "Six or seven, maybe eight months later, we finally stopped trying and we just had to create a new Facebook page." Facebook was the main driver of Rudis' activities; It took a whole year to his business to find the same number of Facebook subscribers. "As a small business owner, I do not have a lot of money, I do not have marketing funds for big box stores," she said. The cancellation "has had a significant impact on our revenues and all of our activities for a whole year".

Still, Steffes, Rudis and Allen have not stopped using Facebook for advertising. Allen used his personal account to post ads on behalf of his client. Steffes asked her husband to create an ad account, which she uses to post ads on behalf of her business. Rudis had to make a new page entirely.

"How can I announce CBD now? I do not do it, "says Rudis. "The only thing you see about CBD oil in my store or in my business, is that I will take a picture and publish it on my story. I do not use the word CBD. I do not market it. I do not announce it. I do not do anything with it. It has worked for her so far.

For his part, Allen feels disconcerted by the immediate and brutal reaction of Facebook. "They do not even tell you what policy you are breaking," she says. "It does not seem very fair to me." But this open house has gone off without a hitch. Allen's client was pleased with the number of new people coming. Some, apparently, had even heard of the event via Facebook.