Cappi Thompson
Source: www.insideradio.com, December 2022
With recreational marijuana legal in 21 states and Washington, DC, dozens of pot dispensaries are advertising on AM/FM radio, ignoring warnings from broadcast attorneys that doing so could jeopardize their FCC license. An Inside Radio analysis of Media Monitors data found more than 40 dispensaries running spots on AM/FM radio this year, with names like Mellow Mountain Dispensary, Mary Janes Dank House Dispensary, and Lit Dispensary. Located in states that have legalized pot, including Colorado, Oklahoma and Nevada, these businesses have collectively aired tens of thousands of ads from January to November. Jardín Premium Cannabis Dispensary aired more than 7,000 spots in Las Vegas alone this year.
But dispensary advertising on radio is dwarfed by the fast-growing Marijuana Products & Services sub-vertical, where there is far less risk in accepting advertising. These are businesses that sell bongs, water pipes, roach clips, vaporizers, rolling papers, scales, hydroponic equipment and guidebooks on cultivation; or that provide advice on how to obtain a permit to legally possess, use and grow marijuana, or get a medical marijuana card. Among the latter, Veriheal, a service that helps patients find physicians that may recommend them for medical marijuana within their state, made its debut on the weekly spot count tally at No. 96 for the week of Nov. 14-20, airing 6,438 spots.
In fact, Veriheal leads the category with more than a quarter-million spots airing in the first eleven months on AM/FM radio, per Media Monitors. But they’re not alone. Leafy Learning and CBD product retailers Green Roads, Harrelson’s Own and CBDistellery each aired more than 10,000 ads this year. CBD products have their own unique complicated thicket of advertising regulations to navigate.
While you might think it is primarily triple-A, alternative and rock stations airing these ads, the exploding Marijuana Products & Services category is not hemmed in by format boundaries. The No. 1 format is Country, which ran 53,648 spots from January through November. This may be because there are more country stations in the U.S. than any other format. Top 40 is close behind with 53,941 spots. Classic rock is next at 52,933, then News/Talk with 47,640 and Rhythmic with 46,919. In fact, 40 different formats, ranging from Latin Tropical and Hawaiian CHR to Soft AC and Adult Hits have aired spots in the category.
What’s causing certain broadcasters to let down their guard and accept the ads? “Nothing has truly changed at the federal level,” says Justin Sasso head of the Colorado Broadcasters Association, where cannabis has been legal since 2014. The association still advises members to “stay away from it and protect your license… We don’t know what the FCC’s reaction might be. It’s a crapshoot at this point.”
While some broadcasters may think they can always dump dispensary ads if a new administration decides to crack down on stations, Sasso reminds that the Commission can act on listener complaints that go back years. “The FCC’s complaint system is very simple and somewhat anonymous, in the sense that you don’t really know a complaint has been filed against you until you’re heading back in for your license renewal,” he says.
Airing of cannabis-related ads still comes with some risk according to broadcast attorneys. That is because, under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule One controlled substance, the same as for heroin and LSD. The continued federal prohibition on cannabis is enough for attorneys to caution against accepting ads from dispensaries.
The FCC itself has been mum on whether stations can air cannabis ads or not, although when he was asked last year about whether state-level law changes would make a difference, Commissioner Nathan Simington responded “probably not.”
Advocating For Law Change
Broadcasters are so enticed by the idea of a new ad category that a group of state associations joined forces to create the Safe Advertising Coalition to advocate for a law change. Colorado is home to one of the state associations advocating for passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Advertising Act that would permit radio and television stations to accept advertising for legal cannabis products if the station is licensed in a state that permits the advertising of medical or adult-use cannabis.
But it and none of the other pot-friendly bills introduced in Congress during the soon-to-end session have gained traction. That includes a measure that would have prohibited the FCC from rejecting a license renewal, license transfer, or require an early renewal application if a station opts to air cannabis ads from a legitimate seller. “We’re trying to roll the ball forward and get an answer that our members can sleep well at night knowing what they or should not be doing,” Sasso says. “And I don’t think we’re done with that fight.”
