New Hampshire Cannabis Advertising Laws

New Hampshire prohibits alternative treatment centres from advertising, then lists activities that shall not be considered advertising. That list includes an age-restricted website carrying strains, products, prices and available discounts, plus opt-in email newsletters. It also provides that the use of social media sites that cannot be age-restricted is prohibited.

Working with a partner that already knows these rules shortens the launch cycle. See how we run campaigns as a cannabis marketing agency in New Hampshire.

Under He-C 402.23(a), an ATC shall be prohibited from advertising its products or services except as allowed in that section. Subsection (b) lists activities that shall not be considered advertising, including an age-restricted website carrying prices and discounts and an opt-in email programme.

New Hampshire established its Therapeutic Cannabis Program in 2013 under RSA 126-X. There is no adult-use programme. The regulator is the Department of Health and Human Services.

Advertising sits at He-C 402.23, Advertising Restrictions, within Part He-C 402, Alternative Treatment Centers, of Chapter He-C 400, the Therapeutic Cannabis Program rules.

There is one advertising rule set. New Hampshire has no adult-use programme and no second framework.

The structure turns on the definition. Under He-C 402.03(c), advertising means all representations disseminated in any manner or by any means, other than by labelling or as allowed in He-C 402.23, for the purpose of inducing, directly or indirectly, the purchase of cannabis or cannabis-infused products. The activities listed in 402.23(b) are carved out of the definition of advertising rather than permitted as advertising.

New Hampshire ATCs are not-for-profit entities, registered with the Secretary of State and operating as charitable trusts for the benefit of qualifying patients.

This page is part of our state-by-state cannabis advertising laws library, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The prohibition and the carve-out

Under He-C 402.23(a), an ATC shall be prohibited from advertising its products or services except as allowed in this section. Under (b), the listed activities shall not be considered advertising and shall be allowed.

Because He-C 402.03(c) defines advertising as excluding what is allowed in 402.23, the (b) activities sit outside the definition.

Business name and logo

Under (b)(1), a business name and logo may be used in labelling, signage, and other materials. The use of medical symbols, images of cannabis or cannabis products, paraphernalia, and colloquial references to cannabis or marijuana is prohibited in the business name or logo.

The restriction attaches to the identity rather than to campaign creative.

The required warning statements

None in the permitted activities. New Hampshire's mandatory statement, that the product has not been analysed or approved by the FDA, is not certified free of contaminants, and that there is limited information on side effects and possible associated health risks, is a labelling requirement under He-C 402.19.

How the warnings have to appear

Not applicable, as none are required in the permitted activities.

When the warnings are not required

Not applicable. There is no advertising disclosure requirement to disapply.

Hotline number

No. He-C 402.23 requires no helpline, hotline or poison control number.

Permitted website and social media content

Under (b)(4), the permitted content includes:

• Hours of operation
• Services provided
• Strains of cannabis available, except that brand names or commercial names of cannabis strains shall not be used
• Products available
• Prices of products, including any available discounts on products
• Educational material, including information described in He-C 402.21 and information about the Department's therapeutic cannabis programme generally
• Any other information related to the ATC that is not intended to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase of cannabis by persons who are not qualifying patients or designated caregivers

Prices and available discounts are expressly permitted. Strains may be listed, and brand or commercial strain names may not be used. The residual category is defined by audience: the information must not be intended to induce purchase by persons who are not qualifying patients or designated caregivers.

The age-restriction requirement

Under (b)(5), the sites in (4) shall be age-restricted in order to discourage minors from accessing the sites, and the use of social media sites that cannot be age-restricted for this purpose shall be prohibited.

The second limb turns on the platform's capability rather than on the ATC's configuration of its account.

Email

Under (b)(6), email communication including electronic newsletters is permitted to existing qualifying patients and designated caregivers, and to other non-minor age individuals who sign up to receive such communication, containing information permitted by (4).

The second limb extends to any non-minor who signs up, not only registered patients.

Discounts, coupons, and price promotion

Prices including any available discounts on products may be shown on the permitted sites under (b)(4). The limit is the residual test at (b)(4): the material must not be intended to induce purchase by people who are not qualifying patients or designated caregivers.

Pre-approval

Not required. He-C 402.30 sets out enforcement actions and administrative fines, including a $10,000 fine for failure to allow Department access to an ATC's registered premises, programmes, services or records, and a $2,000 fine for committing any act prohibited under He-C 402.08.

What the Law Requires

New Hampshire uses minor status rather than a specific advertising age. He-C 401.02 defines a minor as an individual under 18. Permitted sites must be age-restricted to discourage minors under (b)(5), and email may go to existing patients and caregivers and to other non-minor age individuals who sign up under (b)(6).

The programme serves minor qualifying patients, whose cannabis is dispensed only to the patient's designated caregiver.

Audience Percentage Thresholds

He-C 402.23 sets no audience composition percentage. This is an absence in the rule rather than an omission from this page. Other states do set one: Connecticut requires reliable evidence that at least 90 percent of the audience is 21 or older, and Delaware requires at least 85 percent.

What the rule uses instead

The permitted-activity list at (b), the age-restriction requirement at (b)(5), and the audience test in the residual category at (b)(4).

Event sponsorship

He-C 402.23 sets no audience threshold specific to event sponsorship and contains no sponsorship permission.

Where the burden sits

On the ATC. He-C 402.23(a) is framed as a prohibition on the ATC advertising, and the conditions in (b) attach to it.

Age Gating and Consent

Sites

Under (b)(5), age-restricted in order to discourage minors from accessing the sites. The standard stated is "discourage" rather than verify or ensure. He-C 402.23 prescribes no mechanism.

Platform capability

Under (b)(5), the use of social media sites that cannot be age-restricted for this purpose shall be prohibited.

Email

Under (b)(6), permitted to existing qualifying patients and designated caregivers, and to other non-minor age individuals who sign up. Retain records of sign-up and of the non-minor confirmation.

Location-based devices

He-C 402.23 contains no location-based device provision.

Established customers

The email permission at (b)(6) is the provision addressing existing patients and caregivers.

People Depicted in Ads

He-C 402.23 contains no casting restriction, no minimum age for persons appearing in content, no cartoon or mascot rule and no prohibition on depicting consumption.

The restrictions operate on the business name and logo under (b)(1): no medical symbols, no images of cannabis or cannabis products, no paraphernalia, and no colloquial references to cannabis or marijuana.

Restricted Locations and Buffer Distances

He-C 402.23 states no advertising buffer. The rule contains no distance requirement around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds, parks or libraries, and no transit prohibition, because off-premises advertising is not a permitted activity. This is an absence in the rule rather than an omission from this page.

What applies instead

The permitted-activity list at (b), the age-restriction requirement at (b)(5), and local sign ordinances for premises signage.

Programme Geography

Individuals who are not legal residents of New Hampshire are not eligible for registry identification cards as qualifying patients. Visiting qualifying patients with an out-of-state or Canadian equivalent card may purchase, limited to three times in a 12-month period absent a provider statement. The protections granted by RSA 126-X apply only within New Hampshire.

Can You Run a Digital Out of Home Screen in New Hampshire?

Not off premises, since off-premises advertising is not within the (b) list. On premises, signage carrying the business name and logo is permitted under (b)(1), subject to the identity restrictions and local sign ordinances.

Compliant Use of Geotargeting

• He-C 402.23 states no advertising buffer, and permits no paid media placement to geofence.
• Establish and document each platform's age-restriction capability before opening an account, since (b)(5) prohibits the use of sites that cannot be age-restricted.
• Audit strain nomenclature against (b)(4): strains may be listed, brand and commercial strain names may not.
• Check the business name and logo against the identity restrictions at (b)(1).
• Record sign-up and non-minor confirmation for email recipients under (b)(6).
• Note that a Massachusetts, Maine or Vermont campaign delivering into New Hampshire reaches a state where ATC advertising is prohibited.

One advertising rule set. New Hampshire is medical only. The Therapeutic Cannabis Program was established in 2013 under RSA 126-X, which creates exemptions from criminal penalties for therapeutic use rather than a commercial legalisation framework.

Alternative treatment centres are not-for-profit entities registered under RSA 126-X:7, structured as charitable trusts for the benefit of qualifying patients, with boards that must include at least one physician, advanced practice registered nurse or pharmacist licensed in New Hampshire and at least one person qualified to register as a patient. A majority of board members must be New Hampshire residents, and the medical professional may not hold an ownership interest. ATCs are vertically integrated, handling cultivation, processing and dispensing.

Patients and designated caregivers hold registry identification cards. A caregiver may assist up to five qualifying patients, or up to nine where the patient and caregiver each live more than 50 miles from the nearest ATC. Possession is limited to two ounces per qualifying patient, and no more than two ounces may be obtained in any 10-day period from any source.

Two points bear on marketing. Cannabis or products intended for a minor qualifying patient may only be dispensed to the patient's designated caregiver. And an ATC may serve visiting qualifying patients holding an equivalent card from another U.S. jurisdiction or Canada, subject to the three-purchase limit in a 12-month period.

Cannabis and cannabis products became subject to the same open container law as alcohol from January 1, 2025, with therapeutic cannabis under RSA 126-X exempted.

Who regulates hemp here

The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food administers hemp matters, separately from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Non-intoxicating hemp and CBD

Permitted through general retail. A hemp product within the federal definition and sold outside the ATC channel is not an ATC advertising its products or services, so He-C 402.23 does not reach it. General New Hampshire consumer protection law and federal restrictions on health claims apply instead.

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

New Hampshire's position on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids has continued to develop, with legislative attention to products sold outside the therapeutic channel. The federal definition of hemp narrows in November 2026. Confirm the current status before planning any hemp campaign.

What it means for advertising

An ATC may not advertise and is limited to the activities in (b): an age-restricted site, signage carrying the name and logo, and opt-in email. A hemp seller outside the channel is not an ATC and He-C 402.23 does not reach it. Classify each product before building a media plan.

Every statement on this page traces to one of the following:

• N.H. Admin. Rules He-C 402.23, Advertising Restrictions
• N.H. Admin. Rules He-C 402.03 definitions, He-C 402.19 packaging and labelling, He-C 402.21, He-C 402.30 enforcement actions and hearings
• N.H. Admin. Rules He-C 401, Therapeutic Cannabis Program registry rules, including He-C 401.02 definitions
• RSA Chapter 126-X, Use of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes
• New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Therapeutic Cannabis Program

Sections of He-C 401 and 402 were readopted with amendments effective October 1, 2025, replacing versions published elsewhere. Confirm the current text against the Department's adopted rules.