Influencers are reluctant to rep cannabis brands. Only 30% of the agency Heartbeat’s influencers are willing to post marijuana-related ads because, as the CEO explains, “They are scared of legal ramifications, and they don’t want YouTube to shut them down.” Their fears aren’t unfounded. Leading weed-fluencer Bess Byers just had her Instagram account disabled, while YouTube’s “weed purges” have closed popular pages like Loaded Up. (Digiday)
