Why Do So Many Sites Say ‘Plant Based’ Instead of ‘Cannabis’?

Medical cannabis has so many potential benefits when used the right way, relieving symptoms of chronic pain, anxiety and depression to name just a few. And we’d love to use the word 'cannabis' on everything we do. But, although medical cannabis was legalised in 2018 in the UK, some social media platforms, particularly those under Meta’s umbrella like Instagram and Facebook, are unclear, vague and regularly ban/shadowban accounts that post cannabis content. So, we have to be careful with how we word things, even when our content is educational. 

Shadowbanning is a mechanism Facebook, Instagram and TikTok use to hide posts or accounts from their current followers and any potential new followers, all without the account holder knowing. If an account is shadowbanned too many times, it risks being permanently deleted. 

Social media is a great way to reach a wide range of people, and teach them about medical cannabis access. Which is why we don’t use the word ‘cannabis’ on these platforms. We don’t want to trigger shadowbanning - it could mean we may not be reaching you, and we don’t even know it. 

We can and do use 'cannabis' explicitly on other platforms that don’t have the same rules, like LinkedIn and YouTube. And that’s great, because cannabis has the potential to help lots of people medicinally. When prescribed by a pharmacist or specialist doctor, it can help a lot of people get their life back on track. Check out these patient stories on our YouTube Channel - you’ll see the word cannabis popping up quite a bit. 

These policies and rules are always changing, so there is a possibility we’ll be able to use the word ‘cannabis’ more freely in the future. But this also means the rules could get stricter. Either way, we have lots of information on the Alternaleaf website, so you can find out more about medical cannabis, what it can help treat, the science behind it and more. Our priority will always be making sure that you can access accurate, clear information on all things medical cannabis through Cannaverse and our website.