Threads, a new Meta-owned app, launched Wednesday, asks users if they would like to “get assistance” from a federal agency to find drug treatment resources if they are searching for posts on “marijuana”, “psilocybin”, or “ibogaine”. However, searches of content about alcohol or tobacco, which can lead to addiction or death, do not come with this warning.
Drug content flag is inconsistent in its identification of substances as potentially harmful, despite the fact that tens and millions of users are flocking to Meta’s Instagram alternative. You can search “marijuana” and select psychedelics, or the opioid “fentanyl.” This is what you will get:
This Could Be Related to the Sale of Drugs.
In most countries, it is illegal to sell, buy, or trade illicit drugs. You can help yourself or someone else who is struggling with substance abuse through confidential treatment referrals.
The user is then given the option to either “get help” through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA), or “see results regardless.”
The warning also applies to other drug terms, such as MDMA, Peyote (also known as peyote), Vicodin (also known under the brand name Percocet), Adderall (also called Xanax), meth, heroin, and DMT.
When users search for “beer”, “cigarettes” or “liquor”, they are not presented with any information about drug treatment.
The app does not seem to offer treatment resources for people who search “cannabis”, or “ayahuasca” – psychedelic ayahuasca. It is unclear why the two are treated differently, but cannabis can refer to hemp that’s federally legal, which could explain the difference in this case.
Marijuana Moment contacted Meta to get clarification but no representative was available.
This Threads update may be familiar to those who have followed the coverage on marijuana and social media. Twitter took a step similar in 2020 by warning users against “marijuana searches” as part of its partnership with SAMHSA. Alcohol and tobacco are also excluded from search restrictions.
Twitter stopped this practice late last year after it was acquired by Elon Musk. has updated its cannabis advertisement policy to allow cannabis businesses who are “certified advertisers”, to include “packaged” products in their ad campaigns.
The company made headlines in February when it revised the marijuana policy. It opened up advertising opportunities to cannabis companies, allowing them promote their campaigns and brands, as well as link back to their website in certain legal states.
Threads is hailed as the superior alternative to Twitter, as Twitter continues to experience glitches and policy changes, such as temporary limits on how many posts an individual can view. It’s clear that it is borrowing from the history of its rival. The “get help” button on Threads leads to the SAMHSA’s helpline, but it is unclear whether there’s an official partnership between the federal agency and the app.
The policy is seen by many as a double standard that stigmatizes marijuana, while alcohol, vodka, and whiskey are not affected.
The filter is a problem for media organisations, who are forced to hide their coverage of topics like the opioid crisis, harm reduction, and marijuana reform unless they circumvent the filter.
It remains to be seen if Threads will follow Twitter and remove the feature. Marijuana Moment has been active in the app for a while now to reach new users.
Via Threads.
Google has updated its policy in January. This allows companies to promote FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD as well as topical CBD product with less than 0.3 percent of THC.
Google limits these ad options to California, Colorado, and Puerto Rico.
Twitch is a video game streaming service. recently updated its branding policy. It now prohibits the promotion of marijuana products and businesses, while explicitly allowing alcohol partnership.
Twitch clarified its rules separately last year in a manner that included cannabis — excluding marijuana-related references, just like it does with alcohol and tobacco.
In an update to Apple’s iPhone software that was instituted last year, users were given an option to track medications and learn about possible drug interactions with other substances–including marijuana.
Apple will end its policy in 2021 that restricted cannabis companies’ ability to conduct business through its App Store. Eaze, a marijuana delivery service, announced that customers could now shop and pay on their iPhone app.
The New York State marijuana regulators requested that the social media application TikTok lift its ban on advertisements that include the word “cannabis”. This was to help educate the public about the legalization of marijuana in the state.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook, has been accused of “shadow banning” state-legal cannabis businesses and advocacy groups, as well as government agencies like the California Bureau of Cannabis Control, where their profiles do not appear on a standard search. In 2018, there were reports that social media giant was loosening their restrictive cannabis policies. However, it is unclear what steps they have taken.
Instagram has the same problem. People have reported that their accounts were deleted for marijuana-related posts, even when they didn’t promote the sale or use of cannabis.
Google’s Android App Hub , unlike Apple, updated its policy for 2019 and explicitly prohibited programs that connect users to cannabis, regardless of whether it was legal where the user lived.
Bipartisan Pennsylvania Senators Unveil New Marijuana Legalization Bill
The post Meta Owned Social Media Threads Directs Users to Drug Treatment Help when Searching Marijuana or Psychedelics –But Not Alcohol or Cigarettes first appeared on Marijuana moment.
