NNA asks US Postal Service to accept medical marijuana advertising

Apr 24, 2026

The National Newspaper Association today asked Postmaster General David Steiner to lift a cloud from the advertising of medical marijuana in the mail.

Today’s action was prompted by Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche’s decision to reclassify medical marijuana from an Article I controlled substance to a lower and less dangerous level. Public opinion polls indicate wide majority of Americans support lowering the prohibitions on medical marijuana use. Nearly all states now permit its use in some form.

But the U.S. Postal Service regulations have formally prohibited the mailing of medical marijuana advertising, creating confusion for advertising publications and USPS postal personnel. In fact, the mailing is often allowed as a part of an otherwise permissible publication, but USPS then refers the mailing to criminal law enforcement agencies for potential enforcement. Though prosecutions are rare, the ambiguity creates unnecessary compliance costs and slows both the advertising and local commerce. It also creates unnecessary administrative cost for the Postal Service.

The Postal Service has based its policy on the classification of the drug as a Class I controlled substance, for which there is no accepted medical use. Blanche’s action today opens the door for the Postal Service to revisit its policy.

NNA Chair Martha Diaz Azkenazy, publisher of the San Fernando (California) Valley Sun and El Sol, said the Postal Service’s policy “unnecessarily encumbers mailers, creates compliance costs and drives advertising out of the mailstream.”

She continued, “We hope the Postmaster General quickly eliminates the compliance cost that its regulation has created. In today’s tight financial times, we need to use our resources to address much more serious concerns.”