Cannabis content in the creator economy

The cannabis market was valued at $ 22.10 billion based on 2020 figures. Still, like all other companies, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has missed its forecast CAGR rate of 13.9% over the 2021-2026 period. Because of the restrictions on buying in physical outlets, cannabis manufacturers relied more than ever on social media and online shopping. One cause for joy for cannabis lovers was the monumental move by the Alberta government. They placed cannabis producers, retail stores, distributors, manufacturers, and warehouses in the essential service category.

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The rise in cannabis popularity

Medical science continues to advance, and more and more studies and research are showing the added benefits of cannabis ingredients. As a result, its usefulness in medical treatment is slowly gaining ground. Legalization of cannabis use is usually allowed for medicinal purposes. But stoners can have courage. Aside from legalization in Canada, many US states have also legalized the recreational use of cannabis. In addition, the fact that cannabis has come into the spotlight has led many researchers to conduct trials with genetically modified breeds of cannabis. Although countries like Australia and Canada are realizing the great benefits of cannabis, the United States remains the largest market for cannabis and cannabis ingredient-based products.

The flowers attract seasoned stoners

With the increasing legalization of cannabis use, the creators in the creator economy could hardly remain blind to the mental and financial high one can get from the substance. But things are far from being marked as many international social media outlets still view cannabis as a harmful psychoactive drug. Unfortunately, this is the case in the more important parts of the world. So it’s no wonder that their accounts are reported one too often on the various social media platforms.

Legal regulators consider cannabis influencer marketing to be another paid social media advocacy. The official guideline of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reads: “The agency is committed to protecting public health while taking steps to improve the effectiveness of the regulatory channels for the lawful commercialization of suitable cannabis and cannabis-derived products. “On the other hand, another important body – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – makes it mandatory for influencer marketing posts to clearly state any type of financial transaction with the influencer. The state legality of the practice thus falls within the remit of the Department of Justice.

Government agencies aside, it’s important to note that all platforms have their own terms and conditions. They have a certain standard. For one thing, Instagram only allows “marijuana advocacy content, and pharmacies can also promote the use and government legalization of marijuana unless they try to sell it”.

So what’s at stake?

But platform regulations never managed to suppress the aspirations and passionate people. Think Teresa Garibyan, the person in charge of the famous cannabis-related Instagram profile – Trippy Treez. She makes a staggering $ 1,000 to $ 1,500 for a single sponsored post on her Instagram account. Plus, she gets lots of free products that make the overall value even more exceptional. Of course, your 223,000 followers made it all possible. Numbers like this just show how costly account suspension can be for content creators. A locked account means your only other option is to start from scratch. Trippy Treez has been on Instagram since 2016. From then until today, she closed her account for two months in 2018. Additionally, Instagram deactivated her account twice for shorter periods of time in 2019, which was a terrible year for the cannabis industry.

However, things are looking better

Photo of ROMAN ODINTSOV, courtesy of Pexels

Until recently, Google’s YouTube had a policy of strictly restricting the monetization of marijuana and other drug-related content. To put it simply, no one, brand or media, person or group could make money from marijuana-related behavior. It is therefore not uncommon for channels and individual accounts to be blocked or dismantled for disregarding the strict rules.

This is a thing of the past due to new liberal cannabis-friendly laws in the US and South America. YouTube has also updated its guidelines and eased the restrictions on the monetization of cannabis and other “recreational drugs and drug-related content”. Basically, this means cannabis brands and advertisers can advertise on YouTube, which means YouTubers can monetize their cannabis content. However, the representation of cannabis and other drugs must be:

• Informative
• Goal setting
• Educational
• And “not glorified”

For cannabis companies that do not adhere to the relaxed restrictions, there will still be a ban on content monetization. These policy changes took effect in April 2021.