Drugs and Pharmaceuticals

Advertisers can’t run ads that promote the sale or use of illicit or recreational drugs, or other unsafe substances, products or supplements, as determined by Meta at its sole discretion. Ads promoting prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, and cannabis derived products must follow specific requirements outlined in the policy below.


Advertisers running ads across Meta technologies must follow our Community Standards, in addition to our Advertising Standards.

Ads can't:

• Solicit, buy, sell, trade, donate or gift (such as freebies) or illicit, recreational, or other potentially unsafe drugs, products or supplements
• Encourage the consumption of illicit, recreational, or other potentially unsafe drugs, products or supplements
• Promote the sale of drug-related paraphernalia

Ads can:

• Refer to prohibited drugs, products, or supplements for the purposes of political advocacy, news, and awareness campaigns as long as they don’t promote the sale or consumption of those substances

For more information, visit the Business Help Center.

Ads must not promote the sale or use of illicit or recreational drugs, or other unsafe substances, products or supplements, as determined by Meta at its sole discretion.

Advertisers running ads across Meta technologies must follow our Community Standards, in addition to our Advertising Standards.

Advertisers can’t run ads that promote the sale or use of illicit or recreational drugs, or other unsafe substances, products or supplements.

Ads can't:

• Solicit, buy, sell, trade, donate or gift (such as freebies) or illicit, recreational, or other potentially unsafe drugs, products or supplements
• Encourage the consumption of illicit, recreational, or other potentially unsafe drugs, products or supplements
• Promote the sale of drug-related paraphernalia

Ads can:

• Refer to prohibited drugs, products, or supplements for the purposes of political advocacy, news, and awareness campaigns as long as they don’t promote the sale or consumption of those substances

For more information, visit the Business Help Center.

We allow ads that promote prescription drugs in order to share information around medical efficacy, accessibility and affordability of different types of treatments. At the same time, we know that laws and regulations vary across regions when it comes to promoting these products.

To reduce risks to consumers, we require eligible advertisers promoting prescription drugs to provide evidence that their activities are appropriately licensed. Online pharmacies, telehealth providers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers must provide evidence that they are appropriately licensed or otherwise established as lawful in countries they want to target, and that they follow the applicable targeting guidelines, including only running ads in the countries in which they’re certified. Meta doesn’t allow targeting for prescription drugs to people under the age of 18.

Advertisers can check eligibility and request permission using this form.

We allow ads that promote prescription drugs in order to share information around medical efficacy, accessibility and affordability of different types of treatments. At the same time, we know that laws and regulations vary across regions when it comes to promoting these products.

Qualified advertisers that are actively certified with LegitScript can run ads that promote prescription drugs as long as they:

• Only target people in eligible countries (United States, Canada or New Zealand)
• Only target people in countries in which they are certified
• Only target people 18 years or older

Advertisers don’t need written permission to run ads that:

• Educate, advocate or give public service announcements related to prescription drugs
• Promote telehealth services generally

Advertisers can’t run ads that:

• Promote prescription drugs unless they are actively certified by LegitScript and have completed the Meta onboarding process for prescription drugs; only target people in eligible countries (United States, Canada or New Zealand); only target people in countries in which they are certified; and only target people over the age of 18

For tips on how to comply with this policy, visit the Business Help Center.

Ads that promote the sale of over-the-counter medicines must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines, licenses and approvals, and include age and country targeting criteria consistent with applicable local laws. At a minimum, ads may not be targeted to people under 18 years of age.

Advertisers can run ads that promote the sale of over-the-counter medicines as long as they comply with all applicable local laws, industry codes, guidelines, licenses and approvals. Additionally, Meta doesn’t allow targeting for over-the-counter medicine to people under the age of 18.

Over-the-counter medicine refers to medicine that can be purchased or obtained without a prescription. This includes but is not limited to various topical or ingestible common medications, such as anti-inflammatories, allergy medication, antiseptics or certain antibiotic medicines.

Advertisers can:

• Promote over-the-counter medicine to people 18 years or older

Ads may not promote or offer the sale of THC products or cannabis products containing related psychoactive components.

Ads that promote or offer the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) or similar cannabinoid products are only allowed with prior written permission. Meta requires advertisers promoting CBD products to be actively certified with LegitScript. Certified advertisers must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes and guidelines, including Meta’s targeting requirements.

Ads may only promote or offer the sale of CBD in the United States, and must not be targeted to people under 18 years of age. Advertisers can apply for certification with LegitScript here. Advertisers can request permission from Meta using this form.

Ads may only promote or offer the sale of hemp products in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes and guidelines.

For more information on this policy, visit our Business Help Center.

Advertisers can’t run ads that promote THC products or cannabis products containing related psychoactive components.

Advertisers can run ads that promote CBD products as long as they are actively certified with LegitScript, have written permission from Meta and comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes and guidelines. Ads for CBD products must not make health or medical claims or target people under 18 years of age, and are only allowed in the following jurisdiction:

• United States

Advertisers can apply for certification with LegitScript here. Advertisers can request permission from Meta using this form.

Advertisers can run ads that promote hemp products in the following jurisdictions only, and must comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes and guidelines:

• Canada
• Mexico
• United States

Note that products subject to Meta’s policy on Prescription Drugs are not subject to this policy, and advertisers of such products must instead comply with that policy.

For more information on this policy and countries where we allow ads to promote or offer the sale of CBD and related products, visit our Business Help Center.

Advertisers running ads across Meta technologies must follow our Community Standards, in addition to our Advertising Standards.

Advertisers can’t run ads that:

• Promote or offer the sale of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products or cannabis products containing related psychoactive components.

• This includes both ingestible and non-ingestible products.

• Promote the sale of drug-related paraphernalia, such as bongs, rolling papers and vaporizers
• Contain any claims that expressly state or imply that the featured products can treat, cure, prevent, mitigate or diagnose a disease or medical condition in humans or animals.

Certified advertisers with written permission from Meta can run ads that:

• Promote or offer the sale of CBD products that don’t contain >0.3% THC as long as they:

• Only target people in the United States.
• Only target people aged 18 years or older.

Advertisers don’t need written permission to run ads that:

• Promote or offer the sale of hemp products that don’t contain CBD or >0.3% THC (e.g. hemp seed and hemp fiber) in Canada, Mexico and the United States, provided they comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines and licenses.
• Educate, advocate or give public service announcements related to CBD and related products, provided they don’t offer any prohibited products for sale.

For tips on how to comply with this policy, visit our Business Help Center.