In the latest version of a lauded, long-running campaign called “I’m High Right Now,” modern elders pose their unfiltered questions about cannabis use, wondering if it can ease their joint pain or energize their love lives.

Yes, boomer!

The ads, having appeared consistently since their 2023 launch, are kicking off a second phase with media partner Meta, significantly broadening the potential reach of the weed advocacy message from Cannabis Media Council.

Through Facebook and Instagram posts, the new Q&A iteration of “I’m High Right Now” keeps its focus on the 55-plus demo that was influenced by the strident war-on-drugs rhetoric and yet has emerged as an active weed-consuming and canna curious audience.

The media buy, which will span the next full year and possibly beyond, proves that formerly verboten ad spaces are now making deals with weed players.

“Part of the point of launching this campaign with Meta is to show that it’s possible,” said Amy Deneson, CMC’s executive director and co-founder. “It’s not without complications or nuance, like anything involving cannabis, but these channels are open to us.”

The deal with Meta comes via media planning and buying agency Transparent eCom, which counts cannabis brands like Cookies, Herb, and Sunday Scaries among its larger client roster. Transparent handled a previous Meta placement of “I’m High Right Now” in its original iteration, which logged 250,000 impressions and 20,000 engagements, per CMC.

Widespread acceptance

While cannabis remains a federally illegal Class III drug, 39 U.S. states have legalized the plant for medical or recreational use (24 states allow both). The legal industry is expected to reach $35.3 billion in sales this year, per MJBiz Daily, with a total economic impact north of $123 billion. Meantime, public acceptance is at a peak, with 70% of Americans favoring legalization, according to Gallup.

Numbers aside, cannabis brands are limited in their available marketing channels, with tight restrictions on content. While not as welcoming as X, Meta has begun to accept weed advertising, both from brands and dispensaries, while some major platforms still remain off limits.

CMC has a history of working with mainstream media, beginning with its groundbreaking relationship with Hearst and the legacy publisher’s in-house 46Mile division. 

Through the alliance, CMC’s work has appeared everywhere from Men’s Health and Good Housekeeping to Vanity Fair and Town & Country. “I’m High Right Now,” which was named one of ADWEEK’s top 10 cannabis campaigns of 2023, also ran in Hearst’s Super Bowl 58 print preview issue the following year. 

The CMC, a trade association with some 400 members aiming to be the “Got Milk” of the legal weed industry, was looking for an evolution of “I’m High Right Now,” continuing to be shepherded by its Toronto-based agency of record Sister Merci.

Because so many questions had filtered in from newbies and lapsed users, CMC decided to use those real queries to build a 2025 campaign. Deneson and her team partnered with industry organizations Leafly, Leafwell, and NORML to provide vetted responses and educational resources to go along with the creative.

Keep it light

CMC and Sister Merci kept the established light-hearted tone of the work intact because the approach is accessible and “central to our voice,” Deneson said.

For instance, the new ads say: “Can cannabis help me bend it low?” And “Can cannabis stop THIS recession,” with a man of a certain age touching his balding head. 

Yes to the former, meaning everyday physical activities like gardening could become more tolerable with cannabis use, but unfortunately no to the latter. There’s no proof that weed can regrow hair, but “you’ll probably worry less about your follicles once you’re a little high,” per the ad.

As the campaign progresses through the coming year, creatives will choose more consumer-generated questions to include. In addition to the Meta buy, CMC plans audio, digital, and print ads in English and Spanish, plus IRL activations and events like panel discussions.

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And while the ad stars are seniors, the campaign is intended to have a halo effect that could span multiple generations.

“We want this campaign to be a mirror, to show this older demo living their best, brightest lives, while we work to grow the addressable market,” Deneson said. “Elders in many families and communities do have a place of leadership—if they’re okay with the plant, then it can help normalize cannabis more broadly.”