Facebook Marijuana Ban: Censors 'Just Say Now' Over Pot Leaf

Facebook first approved the ads Aug. 7, then backtracked on the decision Aug. 16, Just Say Now said.

By blocking the image, Facebook is hurting Just Say Now's efforts to change public policy, the group's organizers said. The decision came after Facebook had served 38 million ads using the marijuana leaf, the group said.

"It's tantamount to banning a candidate's face during a political campaign," Michael Whitney, a Just Say Now organizer, said in a statement. "It's a mystery to me why Facebook would do such a sudden about-face. This is political speech."

Andrew Noyes, a spokesman for Facebook, said that the problem was the pot leaf. "It would be fine to note that you were informed by Facebook that the image in question was no long[er] acceptable for use in Facebook ads. The image of a pot leaf is classified with all smoking products and therefore is not acceptable under our policies," he told the group in an email, which was provided to HuffPost.