If you are a legal cannabis brand trying to reach an audience online, Congress just handed you a massive, legislative buzzkill. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act. On paper, it sounds like a noble crusade to protect the youth of America from the dark corners of the web. But in practice, it might turn into a giant headache for legal marijuana businesses trying to run a simple ad campaign. Sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), the KIDS Act passed with a sweeping bipartisan vote, and the core rule that has the cannabis industry sweating is a provision that forbids online platforms from facilitating ads for narcotic drugs, cannabis products, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol to anyone the platform knows is a minor. Basically, if an app lets you make a searchable profile, share user-generated content, and uses your data to serve you ads, it falls under the new legislation’s umbrella.
Now, nobody is actually arguing that we should be pitching pre-rolls and edibles to middle schoolers. The problem, according to critics and policy wonks, is the fine print—or lack thereof. The bill’s standard for how a platform “knows” a user is underage is incredibly loose. Free-market advocates warn that this vague language could lead platforms to panic-block massive swaths of adult-oriented advertising just to cover their own legal assets. Why risk a federal penalty when you can just shadowban the local dispensary entirely? Meanwhile, civil rights groups like the ACLU are already raising eyebrows, pointing out that similar “protect the kids” bills at the state level have a long, proud history of getting tossed out of court for being wildly unconstitutional.
The ultimate irony here is that while Congress is scrambling to scrub cannabis from the timelines of American teenagers, the kids are actually smoking less weed anyway. Federal health data and surveys note that youth marijuana use has remained remarkably stable amid the state legalization boom. In fact, multiple studies show that teen cannabis consumption actually drops—by an average of 35% in early adult-use states—once a market becomes legal and regulated. It turns out that when licensed dispensaries check IDs and follow strict security rules, it is a lot harder for a teenager to score than when they are buying from a guy named “Badger” behind the bleachers. The KIDS Act still has a Senate hurdle to clear, so this isn’t the law of the land just yet. But if it passes, the legal weed industry is going to have to get a whole lot more creative with its online marketing, or risk getting permanently left on read by the algorithms.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
