Facebook is aggressively shutting down groups related to kratom, CBD and nootropics shortly after Trump signed the Agricultural Improvement Act, or "Farm Bill" last Thursday. Lee Ott, manager of Collierville, Tennessee's Modern Hemp and the Memphis chapter of The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Law (NORML) and Rush Hemp Farms is concerned with Facebook shutting down pages for perfectly legal businesses and wants at least an explanation of specifically why they were targeted beyond the erroneous claim from Facebook that the pages "promote the sale of prescription pharmaceuticals."
Tennessee Shops Shut Down For CBD Products
No sooner had the Farm Bill been signed into law than the
FDA sprung into action warning it would heavily regulate all hemp-based CBD and cannabinoid products. In February, 23 shops in Tennessee were shut down as part of Operation Candy Crush for selling 50-state legal CBD gummy products. Apparently, Rutherford County authorities confused non-psychoactive CBD gummies with THC containing psychoactive gummy medicinals available in other states. All charges were eventually dropped, but between September and October, several of the
shops involved began filing federal lawsuits for their arrest and embarrassment at being accused of peddling drugs to kids disguised as candy.
This May we reported on how shortly after articles about racism showing up in "Super Chats" on YouTube several kratom and nootropic channels were deleted without warning or explanation. YouTube and Facebook cracking down on supplements is not a new development, but when it occurs around the time that (often unrelated) pressure is being applied it certainly is enough to give one pause.
YouTube Superchats: The Latest Target For Free Speech Pressure
To be fair, this issue has cropped up again and again. It seems networks like Facebook and YT have been being targeted off and on increasingly over the past couple of years. That said, the American Kratom Association's page along with several kratom groups and multiple CBD pages and groups like Nootropica were all shut down in the same week which seems highly coincidental at best considering the timing.
CBD OIL WORKS GREAT FOR ME, I HOPE IT WILL STAY AVAILABLE. MY PHARMACIST SAID THEY WERE TRYING TO SUE TO HAVE IT TAKEN OFF THE MARKET.