West Virginia Cannabis Advertising Laws

West Virginia requires every advertisement to be submitted for approval at least two weeks before use, and to display the assigned approval number in legible font while running. All advertising and marketing must be consistent with the federal regulations governing prescription drug advertising at 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1. Two warning statements apply across print, billboard, television, radio and internet, and no more than 30 percent of the audience may be reasonably expected to be under 21.

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

Advertising is permitted for permit holders across print, billboard, television, radio and internet. Every advertisement requires prior OMC approval, must display the assigned approval number, and must satisfy 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1.

West Virginia is medical only. The Medical Cannabis Act was passed in 2017 and sales began in 2021. The regulator is the Office of Medical Cannabis within the Bureau for Public Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Resources. There is no adult-use programme.

Advertising is governed by Technical Advisory Guidance 23032401, issued March 14, 2023 and effective March 24, 2023, addressed to all West Virginia medical cannabis permit holders. That advisory sets out the pre-approval process, the mandatory statements, the content prohibitions, the audience threshold and the digital rules in one place.

All advertising and marketing must be consistent with the federal regulations governing prescription drug advertising and marketing at 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1.

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

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

The pre-approval process

Advertisements must be submitted to the OMC a minimum of two weeks prior to the use date, by email to medcanwvadvertising@wv.gov. Failure to follow this timeframe results in automatic denial.

Approved advertisements are assigned an approval number which must be displayed, in legible font, during use of the advertisement. Failure to display the approval number may result in penalties to the permit holder.

The approval number is not known until approval is returned, so reserve space for it in the layout rather than adding it afterwards.

The federal prescription drug standard

All advertising and marketing must be consistent with 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1, which governs prescription drug advertisements and carries requirements around fair balance, disclosure of side effects and contraindications, and the relationship between efficacy claims and risk information.

The advisory does not state how 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1 applies to a product that has not been through FDA approval, and the OMC has published no guidance on the point. Take advice before making any benefit or efficacy claim.

Business name and permit number

Not required as such. The OMC-assigned advertisement approval number is required, which identifies the approved creative rather than the permit holder.

The required statements

All advertising, meaning print, billboard, television, radio and internet, must include the following in a font size legible to the viewer, or verbal for radio:

• "Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug."
• "Keep out of the reach of children."

How the statements have to appear

In font size legible to the viewer, with an express verbal alternative for radio. The advisory prescribes no percentage of area, no point size and no colour requirement.

When the statements are not required

The advisory names print, billboard, television, radio and internet advertising, and states no exemption.

Hotline number

Not required.

Prohibited content

Medical cannabis advertising may not:

• Contain statements that are deceptive, false, or misleading
• Encourage any illegal activity
• Display consumption of medical cannabis items
• Contain any content that can be considered to target individuals under 21, including images of minors, cartoons, toys, or similar images, items, or food or drinks typically marketed towards minors, and references to products commonly associated with minors or marketed by minors

The advisory contains no separate therapeutic claims prohibition; claims are governed by 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1.

Handbills

Advertising is prohibited through handbills distributed in public areas such as parking lots and publicly owned property.

In-person events

Events must not include decorations, props, or promotional items which may be attractive to minors, including balloons, ice cream, toys, or persons dressed in costumes or characters.

Discounts, coupons, and price promotion

The advisory contains no express price or discount prohibition. Any promotional material is advertising, so it requires pre-approval and must be consistent with 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1.

Pre-approval

Mandatory. See the pre-approval process above.

What the Law Requires

Twenty-one, applied through the audience threshold, the webpage age measure and the content test. The content prohibition covers any content that can be considered to target individuals under 21, including images of minors, cartoons, toys, similar items, and food or drinks typically marketed towards minors.

West Virginia's medical programme permits certified patients under 18 to obtain medical cannabis through a caregiver.

Audience Percentage Thresholds

30 percent, as a cap on the under-21 share

A medical cannabis organisation may not utilise television, radio, billboards, print media, or internet advertising unless it has reliable evidence that no more than 30 percent of the audience for the programme, publication, or internet website in or on which the advertising is to air or appear is reasonably expected to be under 21.

A 30 percent under-21 cap is equivalent to a 70 percent adult floor.

Drafting

The cap is expressed per-property: the programme, publication or internet website in or on which the advertising is to air or appear. Billboards are named in the list, so out of home is inside the cap. The standard is reliable evidence held by the organisation.

Event sponsorship

The advisory sets no audience threshold specific to event sponsorship. In-person events must not include decorations, props or promotional items attractive to minors.

Where the burden sits

On the medical cannabis organisation, which must hold the reliable evidence.

Age Gating and Consent

Webpages

Advertising via webpage must utilise appropriate measures to ensure users are at least 21 years old. The advisory prescribes no mechanism.

Location-based devices

Permitted only through a mobile device application installed by a device owner aged at least 21, with a permanent and easy opt-out feature. The advisory states that condition and does not address SMS sent to a mobile number.

Established customers

The advisory contains no exception removing communications to existing patients from the requirements.

People Depicted in Ads

The advisory prohibits images of minors and content that can be considered to target individuals under 21, including cartoons and toys. It also prohibits displaying consumption of medical cannabis items, which applies regardless of casting.

The advisory sets no minimum age for persons appearing in advertising. For in-person events, persons dressed in costumes or as characters are prohibited.

Restricted Locations and Buffer Distances

The advisory states no advertising buffer. It contains no distance requirement around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds, parks or libraries, and no transit or public property prohibition beyond the handbill rule. This is an absence in the advisory rather than an omission from this page.

What does apply

The handbill prohibition reaches distribution in public areas such as parking lots and publicly owned property. General West Virginia outdoor advertising law and municipal sign ordinances apply to physical placement independently.

Licensing Buffers That Are Not Advertising Buffers

Facility siting distances exist under the Medical Cannabis Act for where a dispensary may be located. Those govern premises rather than advertisements.

Can You Run a Digital Out of Home Screen in West Virginia?

Subject to OMC approval of the creative, the 30 percent audience test applied to the site, display of the approval number in legible font, the two warning statements, and general state and local sign law. The advisory states no cannabis-specific buffer.

Compliant Use of Geotargeting

• The advisory states no advertising buffer, so there is no facility exclusion layer required by state law.
• Build the two-week OMC approval window into every media timeline, and reserve space in the layout for the approval number.
• Hold reliable evidence of audience composition per programme, publication or website before the placement runs.
• Have compliance sign off on how mobile display inventory is bought before launch, since the location-based device rule requires an installed application.
• Do not carry facility siting distances into a media exclusion layer.
• Plan for delivery into Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky, each of which applies its own advertising rules.

One advertising rule set. West Virginia is medical only. The Medical Cannabis Act, at Chapter 16A of the West Virginia Code, established the programme in 2017, with the first dispensary sales in late 2021. Patients obtain certification from a registered practitioner for a qualifying serious medical condition and receive an identification card from the Office of Medical Cannabis.

The programme permits dry leaf and plant form, oils, tinctures, topicals, capsules and dermal patches. Certified patients under 18 access the programme through a caregiver.

The technical advisory applies to all medical cannabis permit holders: growers, processors and dispensaries alike.

Who regulates hemp here

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture administers the hemp programme, separately from the Office of Medical Cannabis.

Non-intoxicating hemp and CBD

Permitted through general retail. A hemp product within the federal definition and sold outside the medical channel is not advertised by a medical cannabis organisation, so the technical advisory does not reach it. General West Virginia consumer protection law and federal restrictions on health claims apply instead.

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

West Virginia has legislated to restrict intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products, including measures addressing delta-8 and similar cannabinoids and directing regulatory oversight of hemp-derived products sold to consumers. The federal definition of hemp narrows in November 2026. Confirm the current status before planning any intoxicating hemp campaign.

What it means for advertising

A medical cannabis product requires two weeks of lead time, an approval number on the creative, and consistency with 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1. A non-intoxicating hemp product in general retail requires none of it. Classify each product before building a media plan.

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

• OMC Technical Advisory Guidance 23032401, Advertising by Medical Cannabis Organizations, issued March 14, 2023, effective March 24, 2023
• W. Va. Code Chapter 16A, the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act
• 21 C.F.R. Section 202.1, prescription drug advertisements, incorporated by the technical advisory
• West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis
• West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Hemp Program