- Currently, the recreational use of cannabis is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia in the United States.
- At the end of 2022, magnate Elon Musk became CEO of Twitter and since then he has made various changes to the social network.
- For the first time, Twitter authorized cannabis ads, although there are several restrictions.
The world is in constant transformation and one of the characteristics of modern times is openness. Now there is a more open mind towards topics that were previously considered prohibited. Although in the end this position still generates divided opinions among the general population. Such is the case of Twitter and its recent announcement to allow cannabis ads.
The changes began with the arrival of the new owner
The origin of this modification stems from the transformation that the company has undergone in recent months. Since it was acquired by the tycoon Elon Musk A change has been observed both in the appearance of the social network and in internal management.
In fact, one of the first decisions was to incorporate a new algorithm to show more posts from other users. The decision was not well received by people and after a while it had to be rectified to return to the previous version.
On the other hand, Twitter has joined other technology companies that have made reports on their staff to reduce internal expenses. In this way, the number of employees has suffered a noticeable decrease in the offices that it has around the world.
While today a news was released that will have a direct impact on the platform. Everything starts from the fact that for the first time Twitter will allow cannabis ads. With this, he not only plans to attract more users but also increase his income from sponsors.
According to Politico portal this decision was a direct order from Musk. In fact, he was even seen smoking such a cigar after appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
On the other hand, this modification will only be valid in the United States although there are several limitations. First of all Ads may not be directed at minors. In addition, they cannot include legends where false promises are made about their properties or show representations of cannabis consumption.
Twitter becomes first social media platform to allow cannabis ads in US https://t.co/sam9T1ePpS pic.twitter.com/DMD0w56BjY
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 16, 2023
One of the most striking aspects is that it is the first social network to make this decision. For the same reason, it could open the way for other platforms to follow the same path.
The post mentions that many digital portals require minimum business guidelines of $5,000 to $10,000 to get started. Although in this particular case, Twitter said it will not set a minimum amount for cannabis companies.
In the end, this decision was made due to the openness that the United States federal government has had regarding the consumption of cannabis. In several entities its use for recreational purposes is already regulated, although there are also others where the plant is still penalized.
For now, the company has not mentioned whether this model could be implemented for other countries with similar regulations. Although if it is well received by advertisers then it could expand to other territories.
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