Small-business owner Clarence Cocroft budgeted for advertising when he launched his company in DeSoto County, Mississippi. He even purchased billboards. But when the time came to announce his presence, state regulators silenced him.
Cocroft is prohibited from talking about his business on the radio or television or advertising in newspapers, the internet, or outdoors. He is only permitted to hang a sign on his property and have a website with basic information. The state is targeting Cocroft—who obtained all the proper business permits during a tedious startup process—because his industry is medical marijuana.
Mississippi lawmakers legalized medical marijuana in 2022. But at the same time, they empowered the state Department of Health to control advertising.
