Health Canada clamps down on medical marijuana advertising

20 medical marijuana producers accused of overpromoting products on web

Health Canada has ordered Canada’s medical marijuana companies to stop making their products look so good.

The department issued warning letters this week to licensed commercial growers across Canada telling them to clean up their advertising by Jan. 12 or face suspension and even revocation of their licences.

The letters, customized for 20 officially licensed producers of medical marijuana, set strict limits on how their products can be presented on websites and social media, even forbidding photos of buds or the inclusion of hyperlinks to other websites that promote the product.

The tough restrictions also prevent producers from telling customers how varying strains can treat different symptoms, insisting on only bare-bones information.

"The information provided by licensed producers to the public should be limited to basic information for prospective clients such as the brand name, proper or common name of the strain, the price per gram, the cannabinoid content, and the company’s contact information," says a Health Canada notice about the new warning.

Health Canada requires all licensed producers to maintain a website where approved patients can order strains for delivery, and quietly issued guidelines on June 30 about how the products could be advertised.