The fight between the Bureau of Cannabis Control and Weedmaps continues. Earlier this month, the Bureau sent out a notice to Weedmaps demanding that they wipe out any mentions of dispensaries that are not licensed by the state.
Weedmaps responded to the Bureau saying “you don’t have the authority to police us”
Per Gfarma
In a letter sent Monday to Lori Ajax of the Bureau of Cannabis Control, Doug Francis and Chris Beals of Weedmaps.com said the company is not licensed by the bureau and therefore not subject to its enforcement.
They also said Weedmaps is protected from such action because the company is an “interactive computer service” covered under the federal Communications Decency Act. The law states that such a service shall not be treated as the publisher of information provided by a third party.
The CDA is seen as providing legal protection for Facebook, Twitter and other Silicon Valley giants that rely on consumer-generated content. The protection clause cited by Weedmaps has been successfully used a legal shield by companies facing criminal prosecution, including Backpage.com, a classified advertising site that has contained sex ads.
The letter was sent in response to Ajax’s request last month that Weedmaps stop allowing unlicensed retailers to advertise on the website, which serves as something similar to Yelp for cannabis, providing listings of dispensaries, delivery services and doctors who make recommendations for marijuana.
Weedmaps charges cannabis companies anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars each month to advertise on its site.
Ajax told Weedmaps to stop “engaging in activity that violates state cannabis laws” by advertising unlicensed retailers and by failing to publish license numbers for legal and illegal retailers.
Hundreds of dispensaries and delivery services advertise on Weedmaps in California, far more than the number of companies licensed by the Bureau of Cannabis Control.
Weedmaps’ response to Ajax places the responsibility for having a license on the companies that use Weedmaps, saying “any groups that place information on our site represent and warrant that they are in compliance with local law.”
The letter goes on to say that the company believes many of the unlicensed businesses are protected under state law until next January because they are cannabis cooperatives. Under the state’s old medical marijuana laws, cooperatives were non-profit entities created solely to provide cannabis to members. State law eliminates the status of cooperatives under a sunset clause.
This fight will continue as both entities have a lot to lose. The Bureau of Cannabis Control can’t look weak in defending laws and Weedmaps can’t look like it’s a new arm of the Federal government by removing any listings that aren’t up to what the state says is compliance.