Weedmaps Changes Advertising Policy Before Class Action Suit Is Filed
The lawsuit would have been filed by the Los Angeles-based cannabis firm, Zuber Lawler, and would have sought relief under California's Unfair Competition Law. The law prohibits false advertising and illegal business practices.
August 22, 2019 at 04:37 PM
3 minute read
A cannabis technology company that allows users to review and discuss cannabis strains announced plans to no longer host advertising for unlicensed retailers on the same day a law firm planned on filing a class action suit against it for its advertising policies.
The lawsuit would have been filed by the Los Angeles-based cannabis firm, Zuber Lawler & Del Duca, and would have sought relief under California's Unfair Competition Law. The law prohibits false advertising and illegal business practices.
"That law is a powerful tool in our state to go after false advertising and illegal business conduct," Manny Medrano, a partner at Zuber Lawler, said Thursday.
However, on Thursday morning Weedmaps announced that starting later this year it will be restricting the use of its point of sale, online orders, delivery logistics and wholesale exchange software-as-a-service platforms to licensed operators exclusively. Weedmaps, which is based in Irvine, California, also announced it will require U.S. retail advertisers to provide a state license number on their listings.
"Weedmaps always has and will continue to advocate for a flourishing, legal cannabis market, and taking action to address social equity is integral to making that a reality. Today's announcement reinforces that commitment and outlines the program we are implementing to support minority entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry," Weedmaps' CEO Chris Beals said in an emailed statement to Corporate Counsel.
Beals said in the emailed statement that the company will also be working to help those who have not been able to participate in the legal market on how to get licensed in California.
Josh Masur, a partner at Zuber Lawler in the firm's Silicon Valley office, said he suspects that word about the pending lawsuit had spread among the cannabis community. He said the firm did not contact Weedmaps about the suit.
"Our inference is that word was getting around to more than just the people we wanted to talk to," Masur said.
There is not a timeline for when Weedmaps will begin the process of requiring companies who advertise on their site to show license numbers. However, Masur and Medrano said Thursday that they will be watching to see that Weedmaps makes the changes it promised. They said they will be prepared to file the suit if the policy changes Weedmaps announced do not go into effect.
"Our clients are intensely interested because of what the legitimate, licensed cannabis market means," Masur said.
Masur and Medrano did not say how many plaintiffs signed on and declined to give their names. However, they did refer to their clients as "significant players in the cannabis industry."
Advertising policies for the cannabis industry are stringent. While the substance is still illegal on the federal level, different states have guidance for in-house counsel and their employers on how cannabis can be advertised. There are also guidelines for those who publish the advertising, which include making sure the advertisements are not making false claims or marketing to those under 21.
One bill making its way through the California Legislature, AB 1417, if passed, will require those who publish cannabis advertisements to disclose the licensee's license number.
Read More:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllOld Laws, New Tricks: Lawyers Using Patchwork of Creative Legal Theories to Target New Tech
'Rocket Docket': EDVA Judge Controls Google's Fate in Ad Tech Monopoly Trial
4 minute readInfluencers Putting Companies on Hot Seat by Demanding 'Reverse' Morals Clauses
8 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4Greenberg Traurig Initiates String of Suits Following JPMorgan Chase's 'Infinite Money Glitch'
- 5Data-Driven Legal Strategies
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250