The U.S. legal cannabis market generated $38.5 billion in revenue in 2024. It is the fastest-growing regulated consumer category in American business history. Cannabis brands cannot advertise on Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, national television, or national radio.
The response to that advertising blackout, by any measurable standard, has been inadequate. Cannabis brands spend 80% less on marketing as a percentage of revenue than CPG competitors. The revenue-to-ad-spend gap is widening, not closing, according to the Cannabis Media Council. And the channels where cannabis has no restrictions (earned media, SEO, owned content, and influencer strategy with proper compliance) are the ones most consistently underfunded.
5WPR recently published The Cannabis Communications Gap, a 2026 research report documenting this structural mismatch and its specific implications for cannabis operators navigating the most consequential regulatory moment in the industry's history. The full report is available free at 5wpr.com/research/cannabis-communications-gap.
How Does Schedule III Rescheduling Change Cannabis Marketing?
A final order that took effect on April 22, 2026 moved FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana covered by a state medical license from Schedule I to Schedule III, according to law firm Duane Morris. It followed a 2025 executive order on rescheduling medical marijuana.
A separate DEA hearing on moving the remaining marijuana to Schedule III ran across June and July 2026, and the recommended decision is still pending, according to Morgan Lewis (September 24, 2026). Adult-use cannabis therefore remains in Schedule I until that process ends.
The tax effect reaches communications budgets directly. Kilpatrick Townsend reports that Section 280E, the IRS provision that taxes cannabis operators on gross rather than net income, no longer applies to state-licensed medical operators under Schedule III, while the rest of the industry waits for the broader process. Cannabis retailers in high-volume states like Maryland would save an average of $805,000 annually per store under 280E relief.
Where 280E no longer applies, marketing expenses become deductible, so the after-tax cost of every PR, content, and influencer investment drops. Institutional capital will also begin evaluating the category, which makes investor relations and narrative-driven communications critical for multi-state operators that want to raise money at a competitive cost. The rescheduling news cycle is the largest earned media opportunity the industry has had, and it favors companies that have already built media relationships.
What Does the Celebrity Data Show About Cannabis Brand Strategy?
Hoodie Analytics' 2024 sales data provides the clearest available measurement of what celebrity brand strategy produces in cannabis. Khalifa Kush, built over a decade on Wiz Khalifa's genuine cannabis advocacy and scaled through partnerships with Trulieve and Cookies, generated $50 million in 2024 sales. Snoop Dogg's Death Row Cannabis generated $2 million to $3 million and ranked 20th among celebrity brands.
The gap between two of the most famous cannabis advocates in American culture is not an awareness gap. It is an authenticity and communications strategy gap. The report documents four models for celebrity and athlete cannabis partnerships, the performance profile of each, and the communications requirements that separate brands that build sustained equity from those that generate launch-day coverage and silence afterward. For documented examples, see the best cannabis PR campaigns.
Can Cannabis Brands Work With Athletes?
Cannabis brands can work with NBA players on CBD-focused partnerships because the NBA's 2023 collective bargaining agreement removed cannabis from the banned substances list. The agreement sets specific rules on what players can do regarding investment, promotion, and endorsement, which creates a navigable framework for brands that understand them. Most cannabis brands do not yet have the legal and communications infrastructure to operate in this space compliantly.
How Does FTC Enforcement Affect Cannabis Influencer Marketing?
The FTC's 2024 Endorsement Guides make cannabis brands directly liable for influencer content, including posts the brand never reviewed. At $53,088 per violation in 2025, a non-compliant influencer campaign across dozens of posts represents material financial exposure. The report provides the five-element compliance infrastructure that cannabis brands need before running any influencer program.
Which Channels Still Reach Cannabis Customers?
Five channels remain open to cannabis brands: earned media, SEO and content, influencer partnerships, event marketing, and AI search visibility. Each channel serves a different goal, whether awareness, trust, or purchase intent.
Earned media builds credibility fastest. A mention in Forbes or in a trade outlet such as MJBizDaily carries weight with a skeptical audience because no one paid for it. SEO and content turn that credibility into ongoing search traffic once a brand has a body of work to point to. The cannabis digital marketing services overview covers how those channels work together.
Influencer partnerships and trade events fill the gap that paid social used to cover. They reach targeted audiences without running ads on a platform that would remove the account for doing so.
How Should a Cannabis Brand Pitch Journalists?
A cannabis brand should pitch journalists with a clear angle, a named spokesperson, and a reason the outlet's audience cares. The pitch has to show the reporter that the brand understands the beat, not only that the brand wants coverage.
A pitch to a trade reporter at MJBizDaily or Marijuana Business Daily should lead with data or a regulatory angle. A pitch to a consumer lifestyle outlet should lead with the human story behind the product.
Which Events Give Cannabis Brands Speaking Opportunities?
Cannabis brands find speaking opportunities at trade events such as MJBizCon, Hall of Flowers, and the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, where investors, partners, and consumers gather in one place. A spokesperson on stage reaches stakeholders that a press release does not, and speaking lets a brand show expertise in front of an audience that already knows the category.
For the largest of these events, see the MJBizCon 2026 cannabis PR playbook.
How Do AI Answer Engines Cite Cannabis Brands?
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews rarely mention cannabis brands when answering questions about dispensaries, product categories, or brand comparisons. Earned media and owned content do not only reach human readers. They are also the source material AI engines cite when they assemble answers to buyer questions.
In 5W's Cannabis AI Visibility Index, published June 17, 2026, Curaleaf led at an estimated 7.5% of cannabis-category AI citations, followed by Trulieve at 6.5% and Cookies at 5.5%. A brand that invests in earned media and content without measuring its AI citation share leaves part of that return unmeasured.
5WPR runs a free AI Citation Audit that benchmarks a brand's presence across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews against three competitors. It is a starting point for any cannabis operator trying to see where its content investment lands.
What Should a Cannabis Brand Track to Measure PR Results?
A cannabis brand should track referral traffic, branded search volume, and AI citation share, not only the number of placements. Google Analytics shows whether earned coverage drives sessions and conversions, and branded search volume shows whether coverage builds recall between placements.
How Should a Cannabis Brand Handle Stigma in Its Messaging?
A cannabis brand should handle stigma by leading with specific, sourced stories instead of general claims about the industry's legitimacy. A story about how a named patient used CBD oil to manage a documented condition reads as more credible than a broad brand statement.
State law differs, so a message that works in one state can misstate the law in another. Brands should check each market's current rules before publishing.
What Should a Cannabis Brand Do First?
A cannabis brand should start with a compliance-reviewed content foundation before spending on any channel. The website, state-specific legal pages, and social accounts need to be in order before money goes to media outreach or event sponsorship.
Next, prioritize trade press such as MJBizDaily, Marijuana Business Daily, and Green Market Report over consumer press. Then build a page for every state the brand operates in. 5W's Cannabis AI Visibility Index 2026 estimated a state-specific content multiplier of about 2.8x, meaning localized pages earned more AI citation credit than generic national pages.
"Cannabis is the only major consumer category in America where the advertising blackout has not produced a compensating investment in the channels that work. The brands that recognize that gap and close it in 2026 will have a compounding advantage that late movers cannot replicate."
The full Cannabis Communications Gap 2026 report is available free at 5wpr.com/research/cannabis-communications-gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cannabis brands advertise on Google or Facebook?
Cannabis brands face advertising restrictions on Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, national television, and national radio. Platform policies change, so a brand should read each platform's current rules before relying on any paid channel.
Does Schedule III let cannabis brands advertise?
Schedule III status does not by itself reopen ad accounts. 5W's cannabis digital marketing analysis notes that platform ad policies are private commercial rules, not government law, so a federal scheduling change does not automatically change them. Schedule III mainly changes tax treatment for state-licensed medical operators.
Which marketing channels work for cannabis brands?
Earned media, SEO and content, influencer partnerships, event marketing, and AI search visibility all work for cannabis brands. Documented examples appear in the best cannabis PR campaigns, and a cannabis marketing agency can run these channels as one program.
