The large social media platform Instagram has suspended the account of the Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association (SDVICA).
SDVCIA is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of service-disabled veterans in the cannabis industry.
“We have diligently adhered to Instagram’s terms of service and community guidelines, and we believe this suspension to be unjustified,” Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association Co-founder and Cannabis Place dispensary CEO Osbert Orduña said.
On November 21, 2024, SDVICA’s Instagram account, @disabledveteransincannabis, was unexpectedly suspended without prior notice or explanation.
The suspension has significantly hindered their ability to communicate with followers, raise awareness about veterans’ issues, and advocate for policy changes that would benefit their members.
“We are deeply concerned about the potential negative impact this will have on our organization’s mission,” he explained.
Orduña said he was shocked they took it down.
“We’re literally an advocacy group,” he argued. “The online prohibition is a real thing, and it’s like, why?”
Orduña noted that licensed cannabis dispensaries can buy ads to sell weed, which is what is getting cannabis-related accounts shut down in the first place!
“They’ll let you buy an ad. But they’ll also delete you in a heartbeat. That’s the funny part,” he noted. “It’s so arbitrary. There’s no set standard.”
Orduña noted that the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) has noted shadow bans have hurt legal minority-owned cannabis companies and advocacy organizations.
“It’s total bullshit,” he exclaimed.
The group was founded last year.
Veterans for Cannabis
Orduña explained the work they do as a national group. For example, he said SDVICA co-founder NJ cannabis veteran advocate and consultant Leo Bridgewater has been lobbying the Governor and legislators for cannabis reform and providing education for a while now. He noted PTSD initially wasn’t included, and Bridgewater advocated for it successfully.
Recently, Orduña was on a panel with Bridgewater in New York at a cannabis conference.
Other members are advocating elsewhere around the country in other legal cannabis states like Oregon and Maryland.
Orduña noted the need to include PTSD and chronic pain as medical marijuana qualifications is something they work on, along with veteran prioritization in cannabis company licensing.
“We as disabled veterans… are the only social equity group that crosses all groups,” he argued.
Orduña explained that there are veterans who are minorities, women, and LGBTQ entrepreneurs.
He noted that women and minority-owned businesses can be prioritized if they’re not from New Jersey. But veterans have to be from Jersey.
This is why Multi-State Operators (MSOs) with facilities in 1 to 20 other states have continued to dominate the New Jersey cannabis market. In fact, they even got some of the State’s very limited cannabis grant money.
Orduña, a New Yorker, thought vets should be exempt too. He argued that by being especially pro-union, paying good money, and providing benefits, his Jersey City dispensary is uplifting his workers and the market.
Orduña noted the Veteran’s Administration (VA) designates how disabled a veteran is.
“Disabled vet means in some way, shape or form you received an injury, either physical or mental,” he noted.
Orduña explained that having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) also qualifies as disabling a veteran as much as a missing limb.
Helping Veterans with Weed
Veterans and those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and severe anxiety can benefit the most from cannabis consumption.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actually approved the non-profit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) to conduct a clinical marijuana study to see how much cannabis can help veterans with PTSD.
The Anti-Marijuana/Cannabis Witch Hunt of Instagram
Instagram is owned by the large corporation Meta, which also owns Facebook. It has engaged in an ongoing witch hunt against cannabis and marijuana-related organizations.
It’s part of a larger witch hunt Instagram has in place with its Artificial Intelligence bots to censor anything related to cannabis or marijuana. They often shut down or shadow-ban cannabis-related accounts.
They do not like any words or pictures associated with cannabis. It has caused many to intentionally misspell words and use emojis.
Heady NJ, like many pro-cannabis companies and organizations, has faced great prejudice for its continuing coverage of cannabis. That includes great political censorship of our news story when President Joe Biden endorsed rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III from Schedule I, for example.
Instagram was also unhappy with a story where we used the seal of the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) as the main picture.
Cannabis apps being unavailable in the Apple Store was an issue for a while.
Orduña noted that Twitter/X is far more cannabis-friendly.
But Heady NJ has noticed more of the cannabis community is on Instagram.
