Fueled by increased legalization across the world, the cannabis market is projected to grow from $10.3 billion in 2018 to $39.4 billion by 2023. As James Higdon wrote for Politico, 2019 could be marijuana’s biggest year yet as “a green tide in Congress” shows signs that pot could be legal across the U.S. soon. New use cases for medical marijuana and products infused with cannabidiol (or CBD, which is non-psychoactive) have also aided in acceptance of the drug. This all points to huge opportunities for cannabis companies to market themselves to new audiences. Still, there are issues. In some states, cannabis is only legal in certain jurisdictions. And major social networks have prohibited advertising cannabis products. Even the first TV ad for a cannabis product, launched in 2015 by cannabis marketing agency Cannabrand, got pulled at the last minute and never aired. Forced to tread lightly and work around these restrictions, cannabis marketers have gotten creative, providing case studies for launching innovative social strategies under pressure. Here’s how they’re making it work and striking gold – or green – in this new Wild Wild West of marketing. This time we speak to John McCartney, Managing Director, Wise Public Relations, Inc. | President, PRSA San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. John has engineered a number of campaigns for the cannabis industry. The podcast is in partnership with the BCMA. The BCMA is the global industry body for branded content practitioners, run by practitioners, promoting best practice, sharing knowledge and growing the branded content industry. To know more about the BCMA, go to www.thebcma.info CoPartnered with Atharva Marcom, India's smartest PR firm. Reach out to them at www.atharvamarcom.com or atharvamarcom@gmail.com.