Montana cannabis advertising laws

The common mistake is reading the state's advertising ban as a marketing ban. It is narrower than that. The statute opens with the ban itself: "Except as provided in subsection (3), persons with licenses may not advertise marijuana or marijuana products." The Montana Code section 16-12-211 text then makes the exception: "A licensee may engage in electronic advertising such as maintaining a website and advertising on web applications".

Rule 42.39.123 states the same split from the department's side: "A licensee may promote its business and market its brand but may not advertise marijuana or marijuana products except in electronic advertising."

Read together, the two texts sort a dispensary's marketing into three zones:

• Business and brand promotion. The rule permits it. The Department of Revenue's guide gives the plain version: "General business information is permitted. For example, business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation."
• Electronic advertising of marijuana products. The statute permits it, with the website as its first example.
• Every other way of advertising marijuana or marijuana products. Television, radio, print and billboards sit here, and the rule prohibits them.

The Montana market from a search point of view is in our Montana cannabis SEO guide, and this page belongs to our cannabis advertising laws by state series.

We did not find an audience-percentage test in section 16-12-211 or rule 42.39.123. The rules put the age check on the channel instead, in three places.

Because a product-advertising account must be private, plan product social for customers who ask to follow, not as a reach channel.

Rule 42.39.123 defines advertising by what it includes and by what it leaves out, and both halves change a dispensary's plan.

What it includes: "Advertising includes the promotion of special pricing, sales, or discounts on marijuana and marijuana products." A weekend deal promoted anywhere outside the store is advertising, so the channel bans in the table apply to it.

What it leaves out: "Advertising does not include branding, marketing, or packaging and labeling of marijuana and marijuana products or information regarding special pricing, sales, or discounts on display within a licensed premises." The same deal on a board inside the licensed premises is not advertising under this definition.

The statute adds one more exclusion: "A listing in a directory of businesses authorized under this chapter is not advertising for the purposes of this section." The text does not say which directories qualify, so we do not read it as covering every listing site.

Two open edges to plan around:

1. 1Brand-only spots on radio or in print. The rule lets a licensee promote its business and market its brand, and it bans advertising on television, radio and in print. The text does not settle whether a brand-only spot is marketing or advertising. Ask the department before buying the spot.
2. 2Brand-only billboards. The billboard ban reads "utilize a billboard", with no mention of products. A brand-only billboard is not a safe reading.

1. 1Rule 42.39.123. The copy we read carries the line "Eff. 3/23/2024". We did not find a later amendment in the sources checked.
2. 2Section 16-12-211. We read the Legislature's archive copy labelled Montana Code Annotated 2025. Watch for a later edition. The history line shows enactment by Initiative Measure 190, approved Nov. 3, 2020, and amendments by Chapters 505 and 576 of the 2021 session laws.
3. 3Department rulemaking. The statute directs it: "The department shall adopt rules to clearly identify the activities that constitute advertising that are prohibited under this section." The prohibited list is the department's to define, so watch its rule notices.
4. 4Packaging materials. The department's cannabis regulation page lists "Aug 2026 Updated Labeling and Packaging", described as "Updated Marijuana Packaging and Labeling Materials to Implement House Bill 792 (2025)". That is labeling, not the advertising rule, but read it if your labels or exit bags carry marketing copy.

Yes, within the private-account rule in the age-gating section above. The state permitting electronic ads does not make a social network accept one. Each network applies its own advertising policy on top of Montana's rule, and we track those policies on our cannabis advertising platform policies page.

Online, the texts do not settle it: the statute permits electronic advertising, while the department's guide restricts mentions of pricing and deals without naming a channel. Until the department clarifies, our planning default puts deal details on in-store displays and keeps them off websites, social posts and every other channel.