Disposal of marijuana

advertisements (a) A producer, production facility employee, producer backer, dispensary facility employee, dispensary facility backer or physician, in any combination, shall not cooperate, directly or indirectly, in any advertising if such advertising has the purpose or effect of steering or influencing patient or caregiver choice with regard to the selection of a physician, dispensary or marijuana product. (b) An advertisement for marijuana or any marijuana product shall not contain: (1) Any statement that is false or misleading in any material particular or is otherwise in violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, sections 42-110a to 42-110q, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes; (2) Any statement that falsely disparages a competitor’s products; (3) Any statement, design, or representation, picture or illustration that is obscene or indecent; (4) Any statement, design, representation, picture or illustration that encourages or represents the use of marijuana for a condition other than a debilitating medical condition; (5) Any statement, design, representation, picture or illustration that encourages or represents the recreational use of marijuana; (6) Any statement, design, representation, picture or illustration related to the safety or efficacy of marijuana, unless supported by substantial evidence or substantial clinical data; (7) Any statement, design, representation, picture or illustration portraying anyone under the age of eighteen, objects suggestive of the presence of anyone under the age of eighteen, or containing the use of a figure, symbol or language that is customarily associated with anyone under the age of eighteen; (8) Any offer of a prize, award or inducement to a qualifying patient, primary caregiver or physician related to the purchase of marijuana or a certification for the use of marijuana; or (9) Any statement that indicates or implies that the product or entity in the advertisement has been approved or endorsed by the commissioner, department, the state of Connecticut or any person or entity associated with the state of Connecticut. (c) Any advertisement for marijuana or a marijuana product shall be submitted to the commissioner at the same time as, or prior to, the dissemination of the advertisement. (d) The submitter of the advertisement shall provide the following information in addition to the advertisement itself: (1) A cover letter that: (A) Provides the following subject line: Medical marijuana advertisement review package for a proposed advertisement for (Brand Name); (B) Provides a brief description of the format and expected distribution of the proposed advertisement; and (C) Provides the submitter’s name, title, address, telephone number, fax number, and email address; (2) An annotated summary of the proposed advertisement showing every claim being made in the advertisement and which references support for each claim; (3) Verification that a person identified in an advertisement as an actual patient or health care practitioner is an actual patient or health care practitioner and not a model or actor; (4) Verification that a spokesperson who is represented as an actual patient is indeed an actual patient; (5) Verification that an official translation of a foreign language advertisement is accurate; (6) Annotated references to support disease or epidemiology information, cross-referenced to the advertisement summary; and (7) A final copy of the advertisement, including a video where applicable, in a format acceptable to the commissioner. (e) Advertising packages that are missing any of the elements in subsection (d) of this section, or that fail to follow the specific instructions for submissions, shall be considered incomplete. If the department receives an incomplete package, it shall so notify the submitter. (f) The commissioner may: (1) Require a specific disclosure be made in the advertisement in a clear and conspicuous manner if the commissioner determines that the advertisement would be false or misleading without such a disclosure; or (2) Make recommendations with respect to changes that are: (A) Necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare; or (B) Consistent with dispensing information for the product under review. (3) If appropriate and if information exists, recommend statements for inclusion in the advertisement to address the specific efficacy of the drug as it relates to specific disease states, disease symptoms and population groups.