Google just says no to marijuana apps

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While more states are passing laws legalizing marijuana, Google is trying to make it harder for smokers to connect with sellers. Earlier this week, the company announced that it will no longer allow apps in the Google Play Store that "facilitate the sale of marijuana or marijuana products regardless of legality." In other words, even in states where weed is legal, Google will ban these apps.

This new policy is now listed in the Google Play Store Developer Center website (via Android Police) and gives three examples of violations. These include allowing users to order marijuana through an in-app shopping cart feature; assisting users in arranging the delivery or pick up of marijuana; and facilitating the sale of products containing THC. Before Google updated the page, there was no policy specifically related to marijuana apps.

Quote:

"These apps simply need to move the shopping cart flow outside of the app itself to be compliant with this new policy. We’ve been in contact with many of the developers and are working with them to answer any technical questions and help them implement the changes without customer disruption."-Google

At the same time, Google promised to make the Google Play Store safer for children and families. In a blog post made Wednesday, the company wrote "At Google Play, we’re committed to providing a positive, safe environment for children and families. Over the last few years, we’ve helped parents find family-friendly content through the Designed for Families program and empowered them to set digital ground rules for their families with Family Link parental controls." And that apparently means making the Play Store weed-free.

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Google's new policy on marijuana apps

Back in 2015, we told you the names of some of the apps that smartphone owners could use to find the nearest dispensary. But thanks to Google's new policy, that has all gone up in smoke.

I mean, I guess I do understand it, they have to protect themselves. If someone who shouldn't be able to smoke gets hold of it through an app hosted on Play Store, that's a huge liability and lawsuit waiting to happen. It won't stop the apps from being made and distributed through other sources though.

This is not surprising because even if you drive into a Google search to buy marijuana, there will be a lot of literature about the dangers of drugs. I was in Arkansas, and drugs are common there, although they are prohibited there as far as I know. But this does not prevent people from smoking. You can easily purchase CBD oil in every pharmacy and even in Greenspot dispensary near Macleod Trail . But at the same time, if you type in Google or AppStore, there will be nothing in the results. It seems to me that this is how it should be. After all, if it were so easy to find drugs, the number of people using weed would increase tenfold.