How to text customers without getting your number blocked

Why cannabis texts get blocked

Two separate sets of rules apply to every marketing text you send:

• The law. In the U.S., the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and FCC rules govern marketing texts, and many states have their own telemarketing and texting laws. Violations can carry significant per-message penalties.
• The carriers. Mobile carriers and the industry’s messaging guidelines treat cannabis as restricted content. Many carriers won’t deliver cannabis marketing over standard business texting routes, and they actively filter messages and suspend numbers that break their rules.

That’s why a campaign that would work fine for a pizza shop can get a dispensary’s number shut down overnight. The fix isn’t to stop texting. It’s to set things up properly.

1. Get the right consent, every time

Before you send marketing texts, get express written consent. That’s the standard federal rules set for automated marketing messages, and it’s what carriers expect. In practice, that means a customer actively opts in, such as checking an unchecked box or texting a keyword, after seeing clear disclosure of what they’re signing up for.

A good opt-in disclosure includes your business name, that messages are recurring and automated marketing, that consent isn’t a condition of purchase, message frequency, that message and data rates may apply, and how to get help or opt out. For example:

“By checking this box, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing texts from Sunset Cannabis Co. at the number provided. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel. Must be 21+.”

Things that don’t count as marketing consent: a phone number collected for order updates, a number on a loyalty form without a texting disclosure, or a purchased list. Never text a list you bought or borrowed.

2. Age-gate your sign-up

Only adults of legal age (or registered patients, where your state allows) should be on your list. Confirm age at sign-up, for example with a date-of-birth field or by tying sign-up to a verified customer profile, and include the age requirement in your disclosure.

3. Make opting out easy, and honor it fast

• Include opt-out instructions such as “Reply STOP to opt out” in your messages, especially the first one and regular campaigns.
• Treat any reasonable request to stop as an opt-out, not just the word STOP. “Unsubscribe,” “cancel” or “please stop texting me” all count.
• Send one confirmation that they’re unsubscribed, then nothing else. Under FCC rules, opt-out requests must be honored promptly, within 10 business days at most. Most platforms process them instantly, which is what you want.
• Respond to HELP with your business name and how to reach you.

4. Respect quiet hours

Federal rules limit telephone solicitations to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient’s local time, and some states set narrower windows or limit how often you can contact someone. A safe habit: send during normal daytime hours in each customer’s time zone, and avoid early mornings, late nights and back-to-back messages.

5. What to write, and what to avoid

Carriers and regulators look at what your messages say, not just whether you had consent.

Do

• Identify your business clearly in every message.
• Keep it short and useful: a restock, a new arrival, an order update, a member reward.
• Use links on your own domain rather than generic public link shorteners, which carriers often filter.
• Follow your state’s cannabis advertising rules, including any required warnings.

Avoid

• Health or medical claims, like saying a product treats a condition.
• Anything that could appeal to minors, including cartoon-style language or imagery.
• Heavy slang, explicit drug references and attention-grabbing tricks like all caps or excessive symbols.
• Promotions your state doesn’t allow, such as certain free-product offers.
• Sending too often. Unhappy subscribers report messages as spam, and those reports hurt deliverability for everyone on your list.

6. Keep good records

If a customer ever disputes that they agreed to receive texts, your records are your defense. For every subscriber, keep:

• When and where they opted in (checkout, website form, keyword, in-store tablet).
• The exact disclosure wording they saw at the time.
• Their age verification.
• Every opt-out request and when it was processed.

Keep these records for several years, and have counsel confirm the right retention period for your situation.

Your checklist

1. Use a texting provider that explicitly supports cannabis businesses.
2. Collect express written consent with a clear disclosure, and never text purchased lists.
3. Age-gate every sign-up.
4. Honor opt-outs immediately and respond to HELP.
5. Send during daytime hours in the customer’s time zone.
6. Keep messages short, clear and free of health claims or appeals to minors.
7. Store consent and opt-out records.

Budfront’s SMS and email marketing builds these safeguards in, with double opt-in, age checks, quiet hours and consent records stored automatically. For the bigger picture, see the complete dispensary marketing guide.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Texting laws and carrier rules change and vary by state. Talk to counsel before launching an SMS program.