Why LinkedIn treats cannabis accounts more strictly — and how we’re adapting (yes, we’re currently feeling the squeeze)
We’re seeing it first-hand: clean content, steady cadence, real conversations — yet a clear drop in reach and interactions. No red banner, no formal notice. Just… less visibility. In a sector where credibility and timing drive fundraising, dealflow, and hiring, that’s not cosmetic. It’s operational.
I don’t call it a scandal; I call it platform reality. Cannabis is a boundary topic: sensitive regulation, easily misread language, frequent overlap with health, politics, and price talk. That combination tightens the filters. And when you — like we did — batch replies, send many DMs in a short window, or repeatedly engage the same stakeholders, it can look mechanized to an algorithm. Even when it’s all hand-crafted.
What’s actually happening
Not every dip is a shadowban. There are updates, seasonality, and misses. But when posts stop appearing in hashtag search, non-follower interactions collapse, and your feed skews to 1st-degree only, that’s more than a bad day. The platform evaluates not only what we say, but how we behave — pacing, devices, patterns.
Important side note (and then back to LinkedIn): this isn’t unique to LinkedIn; waves of Instagram (IG) accounts get quietly throttled too. But our focus here is LinkedIn, because it’s the primary B2B arena for cannabis founders and investors.
Why cannabis trips the wires faster
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Keyword sensitivity: medical claims, efficacy language, price/promotions — all gray areas.
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Outreach spikes: fundraising and launch sprints create DM surges that resemble automation.
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Bubble signals: the same 30 people commenting in tight time windows can look coordinated, even if it’s just community habit.
What we changed immediately
No drama. Just operating discipline.
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Uncoupled pacing: replies/DMs/comments spread across dayparts; no “power hours.”
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Profile hygiene: single owner, single device. Team runs via editorial workflow, not shared logins.
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Keyword & hashtag diet: precise B2B language; 3–5 relevant tags. Medical topics purely educational, no promises.
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Safe, high-value formats: operator notes, market charts, process explainers, hiring signals — sourced, useful, non-salesy.
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No pods: we do community, but rotate outside our bubble, vary timing, add substance.
Investor lens: visibility must be architected, not hoped for
If your KPIs, milestones, and founder story live only on LinkedIn, you’re single-threaded. Build redundancy:
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Owned first: newsletter, blog, resource hub with clean UTMs.
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Direct lines: investor updates via email; quarterly brief as PDF + web.
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Alt channels: events, podcasts, trade media. LinkedIn remains central — not solitary.
If you get clipped, here’s the reset
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48-hour quiet: no posting, no mass DMs. Let the activity profile normalize.
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Kill risky tooling: no auto-connect/auto-DM. Review app connections.
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Neutral re-entry: return with a useful, non-controversial piece (data/“how-to”), ideally without an external link.
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Comment with intent: outside your usual circle, topic-deep, not generic.
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Measure the right things: Non-follower reach, profile views, saves, meaningful comments — not just impressions.
Our five-point pre-publish check
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Is it clear without any efficacy or health promises?
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Do we need multiple links, or can we route via site/first comment?
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Are the hashtags essential, not decorative?
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Would we say this — verbatim — on a panel?
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Does an investor, customer, or candidate get immediate value from this?
Structural hedge: a dedicated LinkedIn account
Starting next week (week of August 25, 2025) we’re launching a dedicated LinkedIn account for the Marketing-in-Cannabis.com topic. Two reasons:
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Editorial clarity: a focused stream for brand-safe reach, distribution best practices, and case studies.
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Risk diversification: if one account gets throttled, the other keeps the conversation going. Multiple, policy-compliant presences reduce operational fragility in a world where shadowbans do happen.
We’ll share the handle with our audience as we go live — follow both streams to stay resilient and visible.
Bottom line
We feel the headwind — right now. But visibility isn’t a platform favor; it’s the output of content and operating rhythm. Treat distribution as a process, not a trick, and you’ll ship reliably: credible, compliant, repeatable. That’s the kind of professionalism investors notice — and back.
