Google Advertising launched a pilot program on Monday to allow cannabis businesses to advertise on their platforms when Canada complies with federal laws.
According to a notice on Google’s website, the program will run for 20 weeks and aims to “explor user interests and inform future policy updates.”
“During the pilot, searches may offer ads for marijuana products,” Google said in the announcement. “Participation in the pilot is limited to federally licensed operators in Canada.”
Advertising has been an ongoing challenge for cannabis businesses.
Although Google relaxed advertising restrictions on some marijuana and CBD products in 2023, it does not allow advertising that promotes or sells or provides information about marijuana.
However, some cannabis companies have figured out solutions to Google’s algorithms and have obtained ad approval.
Google isn’t the only platform that bans the cannabis business from promoting its products.
In December, Meta’s social media platforms Instagram and Facebook “Shadow banned” many marijuana businesses.
Shadow bans usually occur without businesses realizing that their posts are hidden by their followers.
The shadow ban can last several days to weeks, depending on the violation and how quickly the company resolves it.
