Cannabis, cannabinoid medicines and advertising – where should the line be drawn?

The University of Reading wants to hear the forum’s views – about cannabis, cannabinoid medicines and where to draw the line between provocative and responsible advertising.

Our campaign "Are You Ready?" launched in the last few weeks and focuses on some of the world-class research we do. We had planned to use this image:



to highlight groundbreaking work at Reading to create a new treatment that dramatically reduces and even stops epileptic seizures in children.

Our team of scientists identified and extracted a single, non-psychoactive component from cannabis that had been largely ignored previously. The cannabinoid medicine, Epidiolex, they helped create is now having very exciting results in clinical trials in the United States and has now started tests in the UK. It has the long-term potential to transform the lives of millions of sufferers around the world, including 500,000 people in the UK alone.

However, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which sets the rules for advertisers, informed us this month that promoting this research using the image and headline breaches its UK Advertising Codes.



It told us our advert "may be seen to trivialise the use of drugs and subsequently may be understood to promote its use". And it told us the Advertising Standards Authority may uphold any complaints it receives from the public, meaning the advert could potentially be banned.

We are proud of our scientists’ work. We credit the public with the intelligence to tell the difference between cannabinoid medicines and illegal drug use. We have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs at the University. And we have put forward strong arguments against this to the CAP.



Universities exist to promote and provoke debate - that's why our proposed advert is deliberately strong. One has to question where the line should be drawn when a normally pretty staid publication like National Geographic puts a cannabis plant on its June front page to promote its “Science of Marijuana” cover story.

However, as a responsible institution, we must operate within the rules for advertisers – so while we have run the poster on our own campus, we do not plan to use it elsewhere for now.

But what do you think?

Have we got this right? Does this advert “trivialise” drug use? Should advertisers be able to discuss the use of cannabinoid medicines – and if so how? Where should universities draw the line in promoting their own research? And do universities have wider responsibilities to young people in how they market themselves?

The Epilepsy Society has much more information about the condition. For broader advice and information on drugs go to the Talk to Frank website.

We welcome your thoughts and comments so please join the debate in the forum.

Charles Heymann
Head of News & Content
University of Reading