Facebook has recently shut down pages on its network of businesses that legally sell marijuana in New Jersey. Said state is one of the very few states in the U.S. where selling marijuana is actually permitted by law.
Just recently, businessmen have been baffled of how Facebook has deleted their pages in which they legally sell marijuana for medical purposes. According to Fast Company, there were three dispensaries in the state of New Jersey who complained about their Facebook page being deleted. Their pages were deleted without warning. All they got was a message greeting them with "We remove any promotion or encouragement of drug use. Your page is currently not visible on Facebook. It looks like the content on your page does not follow the Facebook Community Terms and Standards."
Engadget reported that a spokesperson of Facebook commented saying that those pages have been removed since they violated the company's Community Standards that specify what is and is not allowed on the social network. On the contrary, reports claim that the community standards only prohibit attempts only of those unauthorized dealers. Since the complainants are considered to be operating legally within the state wherein they operate, in technical terms, they don't really meet the standards. Medical marijuana has been considered legal in 23 states already, including New Jersey, where dispensaries reside in.
They believe that it's not fair how the network could just shut down resources that could be of help to many sick patients all over the state. What baffles them the most is the absence of any warning or some sort, as reported by NJ. One of its greatest purposes served in social media was the possibility of parents or the patients themselves to ask questions about their mode of medication and treatment. Deleting their pages has now defeated their purpose of creating it in the first place.
The businessmen stand firm in saying that their pages on Facebook does not meet the standards set by the network, as they are doing their business legally. All the more, they have created those pages for medical reasons.
