Twitter made a big announcement that they’ll allow cannabis ads on the platform, but surprise surprise, companies can only do so if they’ve bought a blue-check subscription.

The old phrase “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” only applies to when you do, in fact, actually got ‘em. If you haven’t got ‘em to smoke, you won't be enjoying a cigarette or joint, as it were.

Something similar applies to Elon Musk’s Twitter, which likely has not generated too many $8 blue-check subscribers that were supposed to financially invigorate the platform, and has lost advertisers by the sackload since Musk took ownership. In terms of blue checks and advertisers, Musk (probably) hasn't got 'em.


So Twitter may be looking to kill two blue birds with one stone, as KPIX reports that Twitter will allow cannabis advertising on its platform. But the weed ads can only appear in states where recreational cannabis is legal, and where the cannabis company is legally licensed to do business there.

The announcement was made via the above tweet, and on a company blog post. (The original allowing of cannabis ads occurred February 15, but weed advertisers couldn't actually show the product, among many other restrictions.) The new policy announced this week is far less restrictive.

“Going forward, certified advertisers may feature packaged cannabis products in ad creative,” Twitter says on their blog post. “They may also continue responsibly linking to their owned and operated web pages and e-commerce experiences for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services. We have also made some changes for medical licensees and opened up additional recreational markets.”

Wait, what’s this phrase “certified advertisers?” Does that mean companies have to buy the blue check before they can advertise? That is exactly what this means! TechCrunch reported Friday that all Twitter advertisers are now required to have the paid check mark. That could mean the $8 per month blue check mark ($84 per year), or for gold check “verified” organizations, $1,000 per month ($12,000 per year). Larger advertisers that already spend $1,000 per month on ads automatically got gold check marks.

Many jokers are correctly pointing out that browser extensions that block blue-check accounts will therefore simply eliminate advertisements too, creating a double-win for those who use these extensions, and a sort of self-own in Musk’s new policy.

But what’s probably even funnier is the weed brands can already advertise and show their products, simply by not paying the advertising fees, and creating normal, organic posts for their followers.

Related: San Francisco 4/20 Billboard Promises ‘Get Free NFTs When You Buy Weed’ [SFist]

Image: Grav via Unsplash