Canada’s biggest marijuana companies say that sex, violence and hard-partying dogs should not be used in pitching potential customers on legalized cannabis.
The Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Branding-–an alliance of 17 licensed marijuana producers, including Canopy Growth Corp. and Aurora Cannabis Inc.-–published those and other proposed guidelines Wednesday for the branding and marketing of recreational marijuana.
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Arguing they need to be able to promote themselves in a way that lets them fend off black market sales without targeting youth, the producers say their ad framework could come into effect after the federal government’s July 2018 target date for the legalization of recreational cannabis.
“The development of branding and promotional guidelines was underpinned by the principle that legal, licensed, cannabis companies-–whether they be small, medium or large producers--must be allowed to explain to consumers why the products they develop are better and safer than those offered by the illegal market,” the document says.
The coalition’s proposed rules would apply to commercials for legalized recreational cannabis and its related accessories and services. Under those guidelines, producers would ensure their websites have some way of verifying a person’s age, and ads would not aimed at young people.
Top image: © Andrei Alexandru Florian | Dreamstime.com
