Facebook cracks down on marijuana firms with dozens of accounts shut down

Social networking site points to violations of community standards as companies take a hit in an industry to which social media is essential

Facebook has recently launched an aggressive campaign to rid its sites of some cannabis-related material, deleting or suspending dozens of accounts operated by marijuana businesses, most of which had operated for years without so much as a warning about offensive material.

"We tried to log into Instagram, and a message said we violated their policy, but they won't say what that violation is," said Rick Scarpello, CEO of Incredibles, a Denver-based edible company. "I've written them every day, saying I'm not doing anything illegal and please reinstate my account."