They’re big, eye-catching, and an advertising staple that flanks roadsides across the nation. Billboards have been letting Americans know about things they need to buy, places they need to see, and restaurants they need to eat at since the 1830s. As they evolve from their roots of hand-painted signs to giant digital monitors that shift between ads, billboards remain an ubiquitous part of our highway landscape. And in some cases, with an emphasis on “high.”
Billboards are the focus of an ongoing squabble between Connecticut’s Attorney General William Tong and Green Gold Group, a collection of three marijuana dispensaries located in Massachusetts. When Connecticut legalized marijuana use in 2021, it also enacted several restrictions on the advertising of cannabis dispensaries and products. While this and a subsequent rewrite of the statute in 2022 caused most out-of-state cannabis companies to give up billboard advertising in the Nutmeg State, the Green Gold Group adjusted its signage to skirt the new law.
Instead of promoting the cannabis products available at its three locations in Massachusetts, Green Gold Group’s new billboard advertising campaign in Connecticut featured a mostly empty sign that replaced “cannabis dispensary” with “apparel,” a nod to a tiny shop in a separate building next to one of its retail sales shops. A cheeky move? Maybe, but it’s one that’s allowed Green Gold Group to keep billboards up for the past three years. However, cannabis retailers in Massachusetts may have issues in their backyards as the state legislature continues to propose bills addressing cannabis advertising.
Perhaps, Unless the Billboards Fall, I’ll Never See a Tree at All
Highway I-84 originates in Scranton and meanders through Pennsylvania and New York before crossing into Connecticut. It runs almost the entire width of the state, exiting near the northeastern corner and ending when it meets the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike). The corridor between Hartford and the state line is heavily traveled and includes exits for UConn and other New England colleges. As a result, it’s home to a veritable forest of billboards.
While Massachusetts legalized the possession and use of both medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis before Connecticut, both states are still subject to federal laws, which prohibit the transportation of cannabis products across state lines. Both states also enforce restrictions on cannabis advertising, which focuses on limiting exposure to those under the legal marijuana use age of 21.
Connecticut’s legalization of cannabis law in 2021 included a provision that any billboard featuring marijuana products or other smoking items like vapes had to be able to prove that 90% of those who might see it were over 21 years of age. Some Massachusetts shops ceased advertising on the 1-84 billboards, but others argued they could prove the ads were in compliance.
Attorney General Tong countered by pushing to have the state law rewritten in May 2022. The updated version allows only dispensaries with a license to sell in Connecticut to advertise on billboards. The law also added the extremelyp restrictive condition that cannabis products couldn’t be displayed between 6 a.m. and 11 .m. These alterations seemed like a checkmate by Tong, but Green Gold Group had one last trick up its sleeve.
Hat’s the Way It Goes
Instead of capitulating, Green Gold Group got creative. After stocking a small building next to one of its dispensaries with shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and other clothing, it removed all mention of cannabis products from the billboards in Connecticut. The mostly bare ads proclaim “Green Gold Group Apparel” and list the company’s locations. A zip-up hoodie is also available for purchase on its website.
Despite Tong and some Connecticut lawmakers accusing Green Gold Group of violating the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act by using the “apparel shop” as a front, the company’s ads remain loud and proud along I-84. However, the Massachusetts legislature has been discussing potential changes to cannabis advertising laws, including the outright banning of dispensary ads on billboards. If so, perhaps the residents of the Bay State will start seeing signage promoting an apparel shop with an extremely convenient neighbor.
Related Resources
- Activist Uses Lawsuit To Try To Tell the Plane Truth (FindLaw’s Courtside)
- Connecticut Deceptive Trade Practices Laws (FindLaw’s Connecticut State Law)
- Marketing and Advertising Laws (FindLaw’s Business Operations Law)
