Ownership & Funding
Why this page exists
Trust in coverage of medical cannabis starts with one question: who profits from what you are reading? The field is full of publications that are marketing operations wearing a newsroom’s clothes, funded by the businesses they cover. This page answers the question for MMJ GAZETTE plainly, and any reader who believes our funding has shaped a specific story is invited to say so at support@mmjgazette.com.
Who owns the site
MMJ GAZETTE is an independent publication, owned and operated by its small editorial team. It is not owned, in whole or in part, by any cannabis producer, dispensary, brand, testing laboratory, investment fund, pharmaceutical company, or advocacy organization, and no such entity holds any stake, board seat, or contractual influence over it. The publication is not part of a media conglomerate. It publishes under the site’s name rather than individual bylines: the team is small, articles are produced collaboratively under shared standards, and in a field where covering cannabis can carry personal and professional risk, we extend to our own staff the same discretion we extend to patient sources. The trade-off is real, and we compensate for it the only honest way: accountability attaches to the publication itself, through the corrections policy, the editorial standards, and a contact address a person actually reads.
How the site makes money
Journalism costs money, and readers deserve to know where ours comes from. The site’s revenue comes from two sources, both disclosed here and both governed by the separation rules in our editorial standards.
Advertising
The site carries advertising, which may include advertising from businesses in the cannabis industry. Ads are visually distinct from editorial content and labeled as advertising. Advertisers buy space, not treatment: they receive no preview of coverage, no right of veto, no notice of stories about them, and no immunity from critical reporting. What we will and will not accept as advertising, including our refusal of medical-claim ads, is set out in Advertise With Us.
Affiliate links
Some articles contain affiliate links, meaning the site may earn a commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase, at no extra cost to the reader. Affiliate relationships are disclosed, and the editorial rule is strict: links are added to serve the article, after the copy is written, and no article exists because an affiliate program does. An affiliate relationship is never a statement that a product is safe, effective, or legal in your jurisdiction, and nothing in our disclaimer is softened by a commission.
What we do not take
- No payment for coverage, favorable or otherwise, and no “pay to play” placements disguised as news.
- No undisclosed sponsored content: if material is paid for, it is labeled, every time.
- No funding from any entity conditioned on editorial outcomes.
- No personal financial stakes: editorial team members do not hold investments in cannabis businesses they cover.
- No free products or hospitality in exchange for coverage.
What independence means in practice
Independence is not neutrality about facts; it is freedom from interested parties when reporting them. It means the same evidentiary standard applies to a study funded by the industry and one funded by its critics. It means a major advertiser’s product recall is covered like anyone else’s. It means our policy coverage reports what legislation does rather than campaigning for it. Where any real or apparent conflict touches a story, the article discloses it in the text.
If the structure ever changes
If the ownership of this publication ever changes, or a new category of funding is added, this page will be updated to say so before or at the time the change takes effect. A funding page that lags the facts is worse than none, because it converts disclosure into cover. This page was last reviewed in 2026.
