10 Vital Nugs on Marijuana & Social Media

By Marisa DeZara

If you didn’t take a picture of yesterday’s lunch, you didn’t eat it. If you didn’t capture a shot of a cute puppy, did the puppy ever exist? Social media’s popularity with smartphone users has caused some people to look at every moment of their lives as a potential photo op. Why would a moment with marijuana be any different?

After searching numerous marijuana-related hashtags on Instagram, it turns out that showing off that new bong, eighth or hash cookie is all too common. With marijuana legalization slowly sweeping the nation one state at a time, there is a growing casualness regarding online pot posts. There is critical information consumers and businesses need to know regarding marijuana’s presence on social media.

 

10 Nugs to Know

1. InstaPublic

Instagram’s privacy policy indicates that it may “access, preserve and share information” in order to “detect, prevent and address fraud and other illegal activity.” Even if Instagram doesn’t actively find fraud or other illegal activities, public accounts can always grab the attention of concerned citizens. It happened in South Carolina on March 20, 2014. According to a Wachfox news story, two people were detained because of suspicious pot posts on Instagram and other social media outlets.

2. Search with Caution

High Times states that “marijuana” ranks as one of about 400 keywords traceable by government officials on social media. You can find it in the Analyst’s Desktop Binder for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. You can also find Drug Enforcement Agency, strain and agriculture on the list.

3. Pot Ads Banned

Social media based advertisements are one of the most lucrative outlets for target marketing. However, even in legal states, Facebook, Google and Twitter do not allow marijuana businesses to advertise in partnership on their social sites. On June 20, 2014, San Francisco Gate reported that industry leaders are worried that “cannabis-related businesses won’t be able to realize their potential without far-reaching online advertising.”

4. Teens Tweet THC

According to a study conducted in 2014 and published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, followers of Twitter handles that post marijuana content, such as @stillblazintho, have nearly one million followers, 73 percent of whom are aged 19 years or younger. Psych Central concluded, “Many of the tweets were meant to be humorous. Others implied that marijuana helps a person feel good or relax, and some mentioned different ways to get high.” Regardless of their intentions, teens should be careful with what they tweet because you still have to be 21 or older to buy legal marijuana in Colorado and Washington.

5. Humor Helps

Do not underestimate the power of social media. In 2013, The Seattle Police Department spearheaded a successful campaign which humorously addressed the do’s and don’ts of Washington state’s new marijuana laws. They placed stickers on 1,000 bags of Doritos and handed them out at Seattle’s Hempfest. The driving power behind this nationally-recognized campaign? Twitter.

6. You Can’t Eat the Evidence

Posting photos of marijuana, smoking marijuana or paraphernalia is not a crime in and of itself. However, that information could be used as evidence against you should law enforcement officials have probable cause to investigate any illegal act you may have committed.

7. Online Hustling Hurts

Social media is a tool that has granted people the leisure of finding just about anything of interest, including buying and selling marijuana. The migration of the cannabis trade has gone from real-time interaction to online transaction; both international and American youth have been caught using social media for illegal marijuana deals.

8. Cultivating SEO

Legal marijuana businesses are beginning to embrace social media platforms as a way of getting their products or services to appear in organic search results. Search engine optimization and affordability are both important factors to consider when deciding between a traditional form or an internet-driven form of consumer reach.

9. Pot Posts & Pink Slips

Just because marijuana is legal in certain states does not mean that your job won’t drug test you. If you post anything cannabis-related to your social media accounts, it could be used as a reason to drug test you or fire you. In March 2014, Bromwell Elementary School skipped the drug test and immediately fired an after-school basketball coach for posting photos of paraphernalia on Facebook. If your employer has a clear drug policy and you are legally consuming marijuana, fly under the radar.

10. Social Media for Marijuana

For those who want to post about marijuana, social media hubs such as MassRoots, KUSHCommon and GreenEnergyMedia.TV may work as a better alternative to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. After all, you may not want your boss or your best friend’s cousin knowing about that delicious looking eighth of OG Kush you just picked up from the dispensary, but you may want your best buds to know.

Guest Contributor designates a writer who is guest publishing content with MJINews.

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