In the UK, marijuana has been illegal since 1928, but lots of people are calling for this to be relaxed. Since 2018, medical marijuana has been available through prescription, but this is still strictly regulated. In other areas of the world such as Canada, Amsterdam and Jamaica the use of marijuana is legal.

In the US, these regulations differ from state to state and in the world of advertising, this means brands need to be tentative and mindful about where they are advertising their products.

In this case, digital and advertising media buying agency, Dash Two, predicts local OOH advertising to be the top choice.

The company says that because this form of advertising allows brands to target a narrow audience, for example one city or a particular area of highway, those in areas where the product can’t be purchased won’t see the adverts and the billboard space isn’t wasted.

According to a report by local news outlet, Daily Inter Lake, a group of Republican Party (or Grand Old Party) lawmakers are taking steps to ban billboards featuring medical marijuana adverts in Oklahoma City.

In contrast to this, and highlighting the variation in attitudes towards OOH advertising of marijuana products, Colorado has recently revised rules to allow marijuana adverts on its billboards, according to online media firm, MediaPost.

So whilst the regulations and rules remain different from area to area, this seems to have potential to benefit the OOH industry.