Ads pertaining to cannabis or psychedelic mushrooms are now prohibited on New York transit vehicle services.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) of New York updated its advertising policies on November 17, noting that public transit services may not advertise cannabis or psychedelic mushrooms. “The revised policy includes certain provisions that were part of past policies (with some amendments), and adds new restrictions based on changed circumstances. For example, the revised Advertising Policy explicitly bars advertising for cannabis products, following the decriminalization of recreational use of such products in New York State,” the MTA wrote on its website.
The revised advertising policy notes that the ban applies to anything that: “Promotes tobacco, nicotine, or any tobacco-related or nicotine-related product; any alcohol product; cannabis or any cannabis-related product; or hallucinogenic mushrooms or hallucinogenic mushroom-related product.”
The list of banned advertising also applies to a variety of other types of content, including the promotion or opposition of a political party, anything relative to religious policies, anything “false, misleading or deceptive,” anything that “encourages or depicts unsafe behavior,” which includes promotions of escort services, strip clubs or other sexual services, anything with the use of profanity, among many other prohibited advertisement types.
The policy change is the result of a legal settlement with sexual wellness brand Dame. A complaint was filed by Dame in 2019 when the MTA rejected the company’s advertising efforts, even though the MTA had previously approved dating apps with suggestive imagery, the Museum of Sex and men’s sexual health products. Dame argued that banning the company’s sexual health ads was unconstitutional. “Sexual pleasure is a critical part of wellbeing. Denying Dame advertising space stifles our ability to articulate the value we bring; to innovate and develop products