Hemp now legal; HIA takes on Facebook censors
- KahliBuds.com
- May 25, 2019
- 2 min read
Times Square, New York City, is the latest battle ground in the return of industrial hemp to the USA.
The hemp industry has forced the DEA to back away from hempseed foods and to let Kentucky and other states grow low-THC cannabis for industrial use. It got hemp legalized through the Farm Bill.
Now it is taking on Facebook censorship.
Now a digital billboard, which reads simply, “Facebook: Stop Censoring Hemp,” will run daily in Times Square until August 24. It urges everyone to visit the campaign’s official communication portal, HempIsLegal.org, to sign the petition of support.
In addition, the Hemp Industries Association is mobilizing a massive grassroots campaign among its more than 1,500 members to support the much-needed policy change.
Facebook, Instagram censorship
Facebook and Instagram have been criticized for years for allowing hate speech and ‘fake news‘ to proliferate on their interfaces, while censoring free speech regarding cannabis products.
Executive Director Colleen Keahey Lanier announced May 21 that the HIA launched the national campaign against a Facebook and Instagram ban on promotion and marketing of industrial hemp. Hoban Law Group, Bluebird Botanicals and Bish Enterprises are also backing the effort.
“Our goal is to change Facebook’s policy by applying pressure in the most public way possible,” said Lanier. “They use a wide-reaching platform to communicate and so are we.”
Lanier finds the situation regarding industrial hemp all the more absurd because hemp is legally federally and off the controlled substances list.
“With the passage of the farm bill, it seemed there would be a new dawn for stakeholders of the hemp industries absolving them from confusion over whether hemp is a federally controlled substance. It’s not,” noted Lanier.
Although hemp was redefined as an agricultural commodity, explicitly removing it from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act and the jurisdiction of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the current Facebook policy still classifies hemp as an illegal, prescription or recreational drug.
Policy imposes economic harms
“But hemp entrepreneurs nationwide are currently being denied access to one of the most powerful marketing platforms in the world for small businesses restricted to outdated policies that continue to conflate hemp with marijuana. Not all of Cannabis is considered a drug, and Facebook’s new AI technology is already obsolete if it continues to recognize images of Cannabis as a controlled substance generally.”
Facebook, with its 2.38 billion monthly users, represents a massive market for small businesses. Marketing limitations posed by Facebook exceed what is required by law and have had a significant impact on hemp companies’ capacity to develop their digital presence.
For new entrepreneurs looking to break into the growing hemp industry, being denied access to the social media platform’s advertising capabilities represents a massive roadblock.
“We are asking all hemp supporters — advocates, farmers, processors, manufacturers, retailers and consumers — to join the movement and help us turn Facebook green,” Lanier said. “Hemp advertisements are allowed in Times Square, so why not on Facebook? Hemp is completely legal under federal law.”
Chris Conrad, BruceDayne, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife
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