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State by State Background

Florida Cannabis Advertising Laws

Download the State By State Cannabis Ad Regulations Ebook

Florida State Advertising Regulations

Florida legalized medical marijuana in 2016. Florida’s cannabis advertising law is detailed in Section 986 of Florida’s Public Health Statues. The laws allow for medical marijuana treatment centers to advertise online, but only with approval from the Florida Department of Health.

Listed below are provisions related to digital advertising:

A medical marijuana treatment center may engage in Internet advertising and marketing approved by the Public Health Department.

An advertisement may not have any content that specifically targets individuals under the age of 18, including cartoon characters or similar images.

A medical marijuana treatment center may not engage in advertising that is visible to members of the public from any street, sidewalk, park, or other public places.

A medical marijuana treatment center may engage in Internet advertising and marketing approved by the Public Health Department.

Each medical marijuana treatment center that dispenses marijuana and marijuana delivery devices shall make available to the public on its website the price for each marijuana product.

Each medical marijuana treatment center that dispenses marijuana and marijuana delivery devices shall make available to the public on its website each marijuana and low-THC product available for purchase, including the form, strain of marijuana from which it was extracted, cannabidiol content, tetrahydrocannabinol content, dose unit, total number of doses available, and the ratio of cannabidiol to tetrahydrocannabinol for each product.

Each medical marijuana treatment center that dispenses marijuana and marijuana delivery devices shall make available to the public on its website the price for a 30-day, 50-day, and 70-day supply at a standard dose for each marijuana and low-THC product available for purchase.

An advertisement may not be an unsolicited pop-up advertisement.

Other provisions related to digital advertising:

Opt-in marketing must include an easy and permanent opt-out feature.

An advertisement may not have any content that specifically targets individuals under the age of 18, including cartoon characters or similar images.

A medical marijuana treatment center may not engage in advertising that is visible to members of the public from any street, sidewalk, park, or other public places.

Is Delta 8 Legal in Florida?

Delta 8 THC is currently legal in Florida under state law as long as it is derived from hemp and contains less than 0.3% Delta 9 THC, according to the 2018 Farm Bill. This has made Delta 8 widely available for sale, though there have been legislative discussions about potential future regulations or restrictions on Delta 8 products in Florida. Therefore, consumers must stay informed about any possible changes in state law.

Is CBD Legal in Florida?

Yes, CBD is legal in Florida for both medical and recreational use, provided it meets the requirements of the 2018 Farm Bill (hemp-derived CBD containing less than 0.3% Delta 9 THC). Florida also has its medical marijuana program, which allows patients with a qualifying condition to access CBD products with higher concentrations of THC through licensed dispensaries. Consumers must ensure that their CBD products are sourced from reputable suppliers and tested for quality.

Discounts / Promotions:

Allowed

Cannabis Ad Creative Guideline

  • Age Restriction: Avoid content or imagery appealing to those under 18.
  • No Public Display: Keep ads out of view from public spaces.
  • Health Department Approval: Get approval for online ads from the Florida Department of Health.
  • Transparent Pricing: Show detailed pricing and product info on your website.
  • Synopsis:

    A medical marijuana treatment center may not engage in advertising that is visible to members of the public from any street, sidewalk, park, or other public place, except:

    1. The dispensing location of a medical marijuana treatment center may have a sign that is affixed to the outside or hanging in the window of the premises which identifies the dispensary by the licensee’s business name, a department-approved trade name, or a department-approved logo. A medical marijuana treatment center’s trade name and logo may not contain wording or images commonly associated with marketing targeted toward children or which promote recreational use of marijuana.

    2. A medical marijuana treatment center may engage in

    Internet advertising and marketing under the following conditions:

    a. All advertisements must be approved by the department.

    b. An advertisement may not have any content that specifically targets individuals under the age of 18, including cartoon characters or similar images.

    c. An advertisement may not be an unsolicited pop-up advertisement.

    d. Opt-in marketing must include an easy and permanent opt out feature.

    OOH Advertising laws

    479.04 Business of outdoor advertising; license requirement; renewal; fees.—

    (1) A person may not engage in the business of outdoor advertising in this state without first obtaining a license from the department. Such license shall be renewed annually. The fee for such license, and for each annual renewal, is $300. License renewal fees are payable as provided for in s. 479.07.

    (2) A person is not required to obtain the license provided for in this section solely to erect or construct outdoor advertising signs or structures.

    479.05 Denial, suspension, or revocation of license.—The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license requested or granted under this chapter in any case in which it determines that the application for the license contains false or misleading information of material consequence, that the licensee has failed to pay fees or costs owed to the department for outdoor advertising purposes, or that the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this chapter, unless such licensee, within 30 days after the receipt of notice by the department, corrects such false or misleading information, pays the outstanding amounts, or complies with this chapter. Suspension of a license allows the licensee to maintain existing sign permits, but the department may not grant a transfer of an existing permit or issue an additional permit to a licensee with a suspended license. A person aggrieved by an action of the department that denies, suspends, or revokes a license under this chapter may, within 30 days after the receipt of the notice, apply to the department for an administrative hearing pursuant to chapter 120.

    479.07 Sign permits.—

    (1) Except as provided in ss. 479.105(1) and 479.16, a person may not erect, operate, use, or maintain, or cause to be erected, operated, used, or maintained, any sign on the State Highway System outside an urban area or on any portion of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system without first obtaining a permit for the sign from the department and paying the annual fee as provided in this section. As used in this section, the term “on any portion of the State Highway System, interstate highway system, or federal-aid primary system” means a sign located within the controlled area which is visible from any portion of the main-traveled way of such system.

    (2) Written permission of the owner or other person in lawful possession or control of the site designated as the location of the sign is required for issuance of a permit.

    (3)(a) An application for a sign permit must be made on a form prescribed by the department, and a separate application must be submitted for each permit requested. A permit is required for each sign facing.

    (b) As part of the application, the applicant or his or her authorized representative must certify that all information provided in the application is true and correct. Each permit application must be accompanied by the appropriate permit fee; a signed statement by the owner or other person in lawful control of the site on which the sign is located or will be erected, authorizing the placement of the sign on that site; a statement from the appropriate local governmental official indicating that the sign complies with all local government requirements; and, if a local government permit is required for a sign, a statement that the agency or unit of local government will issue a permit to that applicant upon approval of the state permit application by the department.

    (c) The annual permit fee for each sign facing shall be established by the department in an amount sufficient to offset the total cost to the department for the program, but may not be greater than $100. The first-year fee may be prorated by payment of an amount equal to one-fourth of the annual fee for each remaining whole quarter or partial quarter of the permit year. Applications received after the end of the third quarter of the permit year must include fees for the last quarter of the current year and fees for the succeeding year.

    (4) An application for a permit shall be acted on by granting, denying, or returning the incomplete application within 30 days after receipt of the application by the department.

    (5)(a) For each permit issued, the department shall furnish to the applicant a serially numbered permanent metal permit tag. The permittee is responsible for maintaining a valid permit tag on each permitted sign facing at all times. The tag shall be securely attached to the upper 50 percent of the sign structure, and attached in such a manner as to be plainly visible from the main-traveled way. The permit tag must be properly and permanently displayed at the permitted site within 30 days after the date of permit issuance. If the permittee fails to erect a completed sign on the permitted site within 270 days after the date on which the permit was issued, the permit will be void, and the department may not issue a new permit to that permittee for the same location for 270 days after the date on which the permit becomes void.

    (b) If a permit tag is lost, stolen, or destroyed, the permittee to whom the tag was issued must apply to the department for a replacement tag. The department shall establish a service fee for replacement tags in an amount that will recover the actual cost of providing the replacement tag. Upon receipt of the application accompanied by the service fee, the department shall issue a replacement permit tag.

    (c)1. As soon as practicable, the department shall create and implement a publicly accessible electronic database to include all permits issued by the department. At a minimum, the database must include the name and contact information of the permit operator, the structure identification number or numbers, the panel or face identification number or numbers, the latitude and longitude of the permitted sign, the compass bearing, images of the permitted sign once constructed, and the most recent date the department visually inspected the permitted sign.

    2. Once the department creates and implements the publicly accessible electronic database:

    a. The department may not furnish permanent metal permit tags or replacement tags to permittees;

    b. The department may not enforce the provisions relating to permanent metal permit tags or replacement tags specified in paragraphs (a) and (b); and

    c. Permittees are not required to return permit tags to the department as provided in subsection (8).

    (6) A permit is valid only for the location specified in the permit. Valid permits may be transferred from one sign owner to another upon written acknowledgment from the current permittee and submittal of a transfer fee of $5 for each permit to be transferred. However, the maximum transfer fee for any multiple transfer between two outdoor advertisers in a single transaction is $100.

    (7) A permittee shall at all times maintain the permission of the owner or other person in lawful control of the sign site in order to have and maintain a sign at such site.

    (8)(a) In order to reduce peak workloads, the department may provide for staggered expiration dates for licenses and permits. Unless otherwise provided for by rule, all licenses and permits expire annually on January 15. All license and permit renewal fees are required to be submitted to the department by no later than the expiration date. At least 105 days before the expiration date of licenses and permits, the department shall send to each permittee a notice of fees due for all licenses and permits that were issued to him or her before the date of the notice. Such notice must list the permits and the permit fees due for each sign facing. The permittee shall, no later than 45 days before the expiration date, advise the department of any additions, deletions, or errors contained in the notice. Permit tags that are not renewed shall be returned to the department for cancellation by the expiration date. Permits that are not renewed or are canceled shall be certified in writing at that time as canceled or not renewed by the permittee, and permit tags for such permits shall be returned to the department or shall be accounted for by the permittee in writing, which writing shall be submitted with the renewal fee payment or the cancellation certification. However, failure of a permittee to submit a permit cancellation does not affect the nonrenewal of a permit. Before cancellation of a permit, the permittee shall provide written notice to all persons or entities having a right to advertise on the sign that the permittee intends to cancel the permit.

    (b) If a permittee has not submitted his or her fee payment by the expiration date of the licenses or permits, the department shall send a notice of violation to the permittee within 45 days after the expiration date, requiring the payment of the permit fee within 30 days after the date of the notice and payment of a delinquency fee equal to 10 percent of the original amount due or, in the alternative to these payments, requiring the filing of a request for an administrative hearing to show cause why the sign should not be subject to immediate removal due to expiration of his or her license or permit. If the permittee submits payment as required by the violation notice, the license or permit shall be automatically reinstated and such reinstatement is retroactive to the original expiration date. If the permittee does not respond to the notice of violation within the 30-day period, the department shall, within 30 days, issue a final notice of sign removal and may, following 90 days after the date of the department’s final notice of sign removal, remove the sign without incurring any liability as a result of such removal. However, if at any time before removal of the sign, the permittee demonstrates that a good faith error on the part of the permittee resulted in cancellation or nonrenewal of the permit, the department may reinstate the permit if:

    1. The permit reinstatement fee of up to $300 based on the size of the sign is paid;

    2. All other permit renewal and delinquent permit fees due as of the reinstatement date are paid; and

    3. The permittee reimburses the department for all actual costs resulting from the permit cancellation or nonrenewal.

    (c) Conflicting applications filed by other persons for the same or competing sites covered by a permit subject to paragraph (b) may not be approved until after the sign subject to the expired permit has been removed.

    (d) The cost for removing a sign by the department or an independent contractor shall be assessed by the department against the permittee.

    (9)(a) A permit may not be granted for any sign for which a permit had not been granted by the effective date of this act unless such sign is located at least:

    1. One thousand five hundred feet from any other permitted sign on the same side of the highway, if on an interstate highway.

    2. One thousand feet from any other permitted sign on the same side of the highway, if on a federal-aid primary highway.

    The minimum spacing provided in this paragraph does not preclude the permitting of V-type, back-to-back, side-to-side, stacked, or double-faced signs at the permitted sign site. If a sign is visible to more than one highway subject to the jurisdiction of the department and within the controlled area of the highways, the sign must meet the permitting requirements of all highways and be permitted to the highway having the more stringent permitting requirements.

    (b) A permit may not be granted for a sign pursuant to this chapter to locate such sign on any portion of the interstate or federal-aid primary highway system, which sign:

    1. Exceeds 50 feet in sign structure height above the crown of the main-traveled way to which the sign is permitted, if outside an incorporated area;

    2. Exceeds 65 feet in sign structure height above the crown of the main-traveled way to which the sign is permitted, if inside an incorporated area; or

    3. Exceeds 950 square feet of sign facing including all embellishments.

    (c) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a)1., the distance between permitted signs on the same side of an interstate highway may be reduced to 1,000 feet if all other requirements of this chapter are met and if:

    1. The local government has adopted a plan, program, resolution, ordinance, or other policy encouraging the voluntary removal of signs in a downtown, historic, redevelopment, infill, or other designated area which also provides for a new or replacement sign to be erected on an interstate highway within that jurisdiction if a sign in the designated area is removed;

    2. The sign owner and the local government mutually agree to the terms of the removal and replacement; and

    3. The local government notifies the department of its intention to allow such removal and replacement as agreed upon pursuant to subparagraph 2.

    (d) This subsection does not cause a sign that was conforming on October 1, 1984, to become nonconforming.

    (10) Commercial or industrial zoning that is not comprehensively enacted or that is enacted primarily to permit signs may not be recognized as commercial or industrial zoning for purposes of this provision, and permits may not be issued for signs in such areas.

    Hemp CBD and THC State Rules

    CBD State Legality - Conditionally legal

    Only hemp-derived CBD products under 0.3% THC content are considered legal

    Disclaimer

    Please note that we are not legal professionals, and the information provided in this article should not be interpreted as legal advice. We strongly recommend consulting with legal counsel to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.