Scroll through Instagram and hemp-derived cannabinoid products appear less like intoxicating substances and more like an accessory to everyday life. A new study suggests that may be exactly the impression some brands are trying to create with recreational images, youth-oriented humor and lifestyle messaging, all of which appear far more often than safety warnings.

Companies selling hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoid products often market those products on Instagram with colorful, polished and youthful images. A Rutgers University study was designed to look at the ways cannabis and hemp products are marketed with an eye to informing consumer protection, youth prevention and public health policy efforts.

When a product can cause intoxication, a polished social-media post should not be mistaken for a safety assessment.

The team analyzed the content of 837 Instagram posts published by nine leading cannabinoid brands between February 2024 and February 2025. Trained coders reviewed posts using a code book developed by the research team and assessed themes including product descriptions and images, recreational appeals, youth-oriented imagery, health claims and health or age warnings.

After the 2018 Farm Bill changed the federal definition of hemp, these products became more widely available. Although federal policy is now changing again, the researchers caution that established social-media audiences may continue to encounter indirect lifestyle and brand marketing online.

Marketing of cannabis and cannabinoid products frequently emphasizes enjoyment and lifestyle rather than safety. Product descriptions or imagery appeared in over 75 percent of Instagram posts, while 52 percent used recreational themes. Nearly half included youth-oriented imagery or cultural cues meant to appeal to various segments of the market.

By contrast, health and age warnings appeared in only 2.5 percent of posts, while health or therapeutic claims appeared in 10.2 percent. Marketing varied according to the type of product. Beverages received particularly strong promotional attention. Youth-oriented themes also appeared in over 53 percent of posts about cartridges or vapes and over 49 percent of posts about edibles.

Social media can put promotional content in front of people without the context consumers would likely receive from a health professional or even a traditional advertisement.

Why does this matter? Social media can put promotional content in front of people without the context consumers might receive from a health professional or a traditional advertisement. The researchers also noted that platform policies often use broad or vague language about cannabis and THC promotion. This leaves room for brands to post content that does not directly sell a product, but still makes its use seem normal or appealing to younger audiences.

“These findings highlight important gaps in platform policies and enforcement,” one of the study's co-authors, Julia C. Chen-Sankey, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health and a member of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies, said in a press release.

“In addition to maintaining the prohibition on intoxicating hemp products set forth in Public Law 119-37, regulators and social media companies need clearer standards addressing youth-oriented features, such as cartoons and memes, as well as potentially misleading health claims and inadequate safety information.”

That said, the Rutgers' study is a snapshot of Instagram marketing, not evidence that every person exposed to these posts will use cannabinoid products. Still, the researchers say the findings point to a need for clearer standards, stronger enforcement and closer scrutiny of similar marketing on other platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.

While the study does not show that an Instagram post causes someone to use these products, it does suggest that consumers, particularly younger ones, are being exposed to marketing that can make an intoxicating product seem part of everyday life.

For consumers, the takeaway is simple: attractive images, memes and casual lifestyle messages are marketing, too. When a product can cause intoxication, a polished social-media post should not be mistaken for a safety assessment.

The study is published in the journal, Addiction.