Illinois Cannabis Marketing: Advertising Rules and Regulations

If you have followed our blog and keeping up with us on social media, we have been covering different aspects of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. As a cannabis company operating in a newly-regulated and emerging industry, it is important for us to understanding both opportunities and limitations of the upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis. To that end, this post serves as an overview of rules and regulations related to the advertising and marketing of products you might find at a recreational dispensary.

According to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, cannabis businesses may not engage in advertising that (emphasis added):

1. is false or misleading;
2. promotes over consumption of cannabis or cannabis products;
3. depicts the actual consumption of cannabis or cannabis products;
4. depicts a person under 21 years of age consuming cannabis;
5. makes any health, medicinal, or therapeutic claims about cannabis or cannabis-infused products;
6. includes the image of a cannabis leaf or bud;
7. or includes any image designed or likely to appeal to minors, including cartoons, toys, animals, or children, or any other likeness to images, characters, or phrases that is designed in any manner to be appealing to or encourage consumption of persons under 21 years of age.

Advertising refers to engaging in promotional activities including, but not limited to: newspaper, radio, internet and electronic media, and television advertising; the distribution of fliers and circulars; and the display of window and interior signs. No advertisement of cannabis or a cannabis-infused products is allowed in any form or through any medium:

1. within 1,000 feet of the perimeter of school grounds, a playground, a recreation center or facility, a child care center, a public park or public library, or a game arcade to which admission is not restricted to persons 21 years of age or older;
2. on or in a public transit vehicle or public transit shelter;
3. or on or in publicly owned or publicly operated property.

Cannabis product packaging and labeling must also follow the rules above but have additional limitations, which we will cover in another post. Stay tuned!