It’s poetic justice at last as Facebook finally gets sued over their unrelenting anti-cannabis policies.
Even though representatives from the social media network recently said they would update their cannabis polices to be more fair and inclusive, they continue to delete accounts that sell or discuss cannabis. Now, their inconsistencies have come around full circle as Facebook gets sued by a small, cannabis business owner.
The Plaintiff – and owner of Cannaramic Media Inc. – Felica Palmer, uses her site to promote cannabis education and various events. She is being represented by David C. Holland from NORML’s network of attorneys. He agreed to take the case pro-bono. According to the lawsuit, Facebook Inc. has demonstrated a “pattern of censorship and suppression of information” regarding “legal uses of cannabis”.
Facebook deleted Palmer’s account after she paid for sponsored ads to promote her upcoming Cannaramic Online Summit, which is a series of educational classes dedicated to teaching people the safest and most effective ways to utilize cannabis. Palmer claims that Facebook “induced her buy into the network’s paid-for-advertisements program,” most likely by offering to place her ad for a heavily discounted rate, which is something they often do.
“When a private company like Facebook (our largest resource for communication) prohibits the flow of this type of information, it essentially amounts to a threat to the public health, social welfare, and economic vitality of our communities,” mentioned David Holland to a Forbes reporter.
Unfortunately this is nothing new for Facebook, which has been unequivocally anti-cannabis since day one. Among the pages that have been temporarily blocked or permanently removed are cannabis business companies, social media influencers that advertise cannabis products, industry education programs, and even accounts that promote social equity and expungement for cannabis related charges.
Since late last year, they’ve been saying they would ease up on licensed cannabis businesses, but their terms still categorize cannabis as an “illicit drug”. They mention that companies should “avoid using images of either recreational or medical marijuana”, among other things. As countries and states scramble to update their cannabis policies, Facebook is stuck getting sued for continuing the outdated practice of marginalizing canna-business owners.
