Advertising Policy

1. Scope of This Policy

This policy covers all paid advertising, sponsored content, and paid placements appearing on mainedispensaryguide.com and its associated landing pages. It is separate from our Affiliate Disclosure, which addresses revenue earned from outbound affiliate links. Affiliate links are treated as editorial and follow the editorial standards; paid advertising follows the rules below.

2. Wall Between Editorial and Advertising

Maine Dispensary Guide operates a strict separation between editorial content and advertising. Our writers and editors are not informed of — and do not consider — which companies advertise on the site when producing guides, compliance pages, or city profiles. Conversely, advertisers have no input into editorial coverage and are not offered advance review of articles in which they are mentioned.

This wall is enforced through:

• An independent editorial pipeline with no shared P&L between content and revenue functions.
• Mandatory disclosure tags on every paid or sponsored element (see "On-Page Disclosure" below).
• An annual review of editorial decisions against the sponsor list to detect any pattern of reciprocal coverage.

3. What We Will Accept

We accept advertising from the following categories when the advertiser meets the verification criteria in section 4:

• Maine-licensed cannabis operators (cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, testing labs, transport) with an active OCP license.
• Cannabis-adjacent B2B service providers serving Maine operators: attorneys, CPAs, real-estate brokers, security and POS vendors, payroll services, insurance carriers with cannabis programs.
• Cannabis industry events, conferences, and trade publications with editorial standards.
• Cannabis-focused nonprofit research and policy organizations (with no direct operator financial ties).

4. What We Will Not Accept

• Unlicensed cannabis sales or "gray-market" delivery services.
• Cannabis products marketed to minors or in violation of Maine OCP packaging and labeling rules.
• Health claims for cannabis products that are not supported by primary-source evidence and that conflict with FDA 21 CFR 202.1.
• Spyware, malware, or advertising networks that track users off-domain without consent.
• Advertising that disparages a competitor or makes unverifiable efficacy claims.
• Cryptocurrency tokens, speculative financial products, or gambling operators without a U.S. license.

5. Verification of Cannabis Operators

Before accepting paid placements from any cannabis operator, we verify the operator's active license status on the Maine OCP licensee roster. Verification is re-run at the start of each advertising relationship and on each renewal. If a license lapses, the placement is paused pending reinstatement or removal.

6. On-Page Disclosure

Every paid or sponsored element on Maine Dispensary Guide is clearly labeled at the point of presentation with one of the following visible disclosures:

• "Sponsored" — for native placements where the advertiser has paid for a labeled content block.
• "Advertisement" — for display placements served through a third-party ad network.
• "Partner content" — for partner-written articles produced under our editorial review and labeled as such in the byline and footer.

These labels appear above the placement, are present in screen-reader-readable text, and are not hidden behind icons that require hover or click to interpret.

7. Sponsored Content Standards

Sponsored or partner content is held to the same factual-accuracy and source-citation standards as editorial content. We reserve the right to reject, revise, or remove sponsored content that does not meet those standards. We do not publish sponsored content that mimics the visual style of editorial pages without the disclosure described above.

8. Data and Targeting

Advertising on Maine Dispensary Guide is contextual, not behavioral. We do not sell advertiser access to user-level browsing data. If we ever introduce interest-based or retargeted advertising, we will update this policy, present an opt-out, and re-consent existing users where required by GDPR, CCPA, or applicable state law.

9. Children

Maine Dispensary Guide is a B2B resource intended for adults researching the Maine cannabis industry. We do not direct advertising toward minors, and we do not accept advertising from products or services marketed to minors.

10. Reporting Advertising Concerns

If you believe an advertisement or sponsored placement on this site violates this policy, please contact us at advertising@mainedispensaryguide.com with a screenshot, the page URL, and a short description. We investigate every report.