TIME WARNER CABLE NEWS: GOOGLE DENIES MEDICAL MARIJUANA COMPANY IN NY RIGHTS TO ADVERTISE ON SITE
A medical marijuana company with ties to New York is calling on Google after they say the search engine giant denied them the opportunity to market their products. Time Warner Cable News reporter Michael Howard has the details on why Google says they did so, and how a local lawyer says it has yet to be dealt with on a national level.
The CEO of Vireo Health of New York Ari Hoffnung says he is frustrated with Google after the company denied Vireo the opportunity to market its products on the worlds largest search engine.
Vireo opened shop in January, and is one of five companies licensed by the New York State Department of Health to produce and sell medical marijuana. Their seven online advertisements Hoffnung says, would promote the four New York dispensary locations and the types of medical conditions like cancer and aid their products are for.
In an email to Vireo, Google said the ads were disapproved because they “don’t allow promotion of substances that alter the mental state for recreation or otherwise induce highs, products or services marketed to facilitate drug use, or instructional content about producing, purchasing, or using recreational drugs.” But Hoffnung says their products are only used for medical purposes, not recreation.
“Anyone who knows anything about New York states medical marijuana program knows that it is not a recreational program, it’s very highly controlled,” said Hoffnung.