Instagram Marketing by Hemp Cannabinoid Brands Found Heavy on Youth Appeals, Rutgers Study Shows

Rutgers Study Maps Youth-Oriented Instagram Marketing by Nine Hemp Cannabinoid Brands

Researchers at Rutgers University reviewed 837 Instagram posts published by nine hemp-derived cannabinoid brands between February 2024 and February 2025 and found that promotional content frequently leaned on cartoons, memes and influencers, while safety warnings were largely drowned out. The brands named in the study, published on Aug. 19 in Addiction, include CannaAid, Cycling Frog, Delta Extrax, Elyxr, Fly Urb, Hometown Hero, Koi CBD, Mood and Official Canna River.

About half of the posts contained youth-oriented elements, and 52% showed products containing Delta-8 THC, HHC or THC-P as part of everyday routines or social and leisure moments. Beverages were the most heavily promoted category: 84% of beverage posts stressed recreational themes and 57% used youth-oriented appeals. Youth-focused appeals also appeared in 54% of vape/cartridge posts and 49% of edible posts.

The study arrives just before U.S. regulations take effect this November that are designed to narrow the federal definition of hemp and lower the maximum permitted amount of THC. That change, however, does not automatically solve the social media problem, according to the Rutgers team: brands with established audiences may simply continue to use indirect lifestyle and brand marketing even as the product market shifts.

Study co-author Julia Chen-Sankey said the findings point to important gaps in platform policies and enforcement, and called for clearer standards on youth-oriented features, misleading health claims and inadequate safety information. She also said similar indirect marketing warrants closer examination on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.

Why the November Hemp Rule Change May Not Close the Social Media Gap

The Nine Brands' Instagram Playbook: Lifestyle Over Compliance

The pattern in the study is not simply promotional volume; it is the use of indirect visual language. Beverage content leaned most heavily on recreational and youth-oriented themes, while edibles and vape posts mixed youth appeals with everyday-use imagery. That matters because it lets brands keep posting even when direct sales language would be more likely to trigger platform restrictions.

The November Hemp Rule Change Is a Product Deadline, Not a Marketing Reset

From November, the federal definition of hemp narrows and the permitted THC ceiling falls. For brands whose products fall outside the new standard, the immediate challenge is product legality. But the Rutgers warning is different: an established Instagram following can be redeployed for indirect brand-building, so a company can lose a product line and still retain a youth-skewed audience that may be carried toward new or compliant products later.

Vague Platform Language Creates the Enforcement Gap

The study argues that social media platforms' restrictions on cannabis and THC promotion rely on broad and vague language. That ambiguity allows posts that do not directly sell an intoxicating product to remain live while still normalizing its use among younger users. The practical result is that enforcement is reactive and inconsistent, making it hard to know which content crosses the line.

Before the November Deadline: Concrete Steps for Platforms, Regulators and Hemp Brands

Because the study names specific practices and a specific regulatory date, the next steps are concrete:

• Social media platforms: Replace broad cannabis-promotion language with explicit definitions that cover youth-oriented features found in about half of the reviewed posts, including cartoons, memes and influencer content, and apply the same standard to YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, not only Instagram.
• Hemp brands named in the study: Audit existing Instagram posts before the November change for recreational and youth-oriented themes, especially beverage content where 57% of posts used youth appeals; content that does not meet the narrower federal THC definition should be removed or clearly reformulated.
• Federal and state regulators: Issue guidance distinguishing indirect lifestyle and brand marketing from prohibited promotion, so that brands with established audiences cannot simply shift to the indirect tactics Rutgers warns about.
• Platform policy teams: Consider the Rutgers proposal on whether commercial brands that market intoxicating substances should be allowed to maintain social media accounts at all, and document how current vague rules are enforced.