Apple has removed a popular game about growing marijuana from the iTunes App Store

The game, Weed Firm, is just one of many on the iTunes App Store that feature marijuana in some way, and you can still download a number of apps that can help you locate where to legally buy marijuana in states like Colorado, review different strains of the plant, and much more.

 

According to a statement (via Adweek) from Weed Firm developer Manitoba games, its game was pulled because it was more popular than others. “This was entirely Apple's decision, not ours,” it said. “We guess the problem was that the game was just too good and got to number one in All Categories, since there are certainly a great number of weed based apps still available, as well as games promoting other so-called 'illegal activities' such as shooting people, crashing cars and throwing birds at buildings.”

An example is Weed Maps, which finds and maps out the nearest medical marijuana dispensaries for users. Weed Tycoon, another game similar to Weed Firms but without the stress of running from the law or other gangsters, allows the player to run a virtual marijuana café like a business owner. The player determines the prices for different strains and also finds and buys grow farms to harvest the marijuana crops.

The opening credits to Weed Firm explicitly state that the game is fiction and is not representative of how to sell or grow pot, according to CNN.

Google also took Weed Firm down from its Play store, but Manitoba Games said it was because of an issue with the game's publisher rather than with Google. The company also said it would get the game back onto the Apple App Store after it changes a few things in the game.

As indicated by the iTunes App Store guidelines, the company reserves the right to reject or remove any app for content or behavior it believes is over the line. This usually refers to adult content, but we’ve also seen Apple pull an app about plastic surgery reportedly aimed at children, and the mobile version of Wolfenstein 3D from the Swiss and Austrian app stores for featuring swastikas.

But Manitoba Games promises that Weed Firm will return to the iTunes App Store after it’s been “censored a bit to comply with Apple's strictest requirement since they are going to be looking very attentively at what we submit from now on.”