In a quiet but significant shift, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) appears to have lifted its long-standing restrictions on cannabis-related search terms across its social media giants, Facebook and Instagram. This development, first reported by Marijuana Moment, suggests that users can now search for terms like "marijuana" and "cannabis" without encountering content blocks or warnings that previously discouraged such activity.
Until recently, searches involving cannabis would prompt users with a pop-up warning urging them to report "the sale of drugs," effectively blocking access to pages, hashtags, and posts that mentioned marijuana—even when the content was educational, advocacy-based, or tied to legal cannabis businesses. That policy seems to have been quietly rolled back, and cannabis-related content is now searchable once again on both platforms.
This change aligns with broader shifts in Meta's content moderation policies. Earlier this year, the Menlo Park-based tech company ended its controversial third-party fact-checking program and began relaxing enforcement around hot-button social issues, including immigration, gender identity, and now, cannabis.
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