Cannabis is legal in more U.S. states than ever. But as the map goes green, the marketing landscape grows more complicated.
One-size-fits-all strategies don’t work anymore especially when every state has its own rules about what you can (and can’t) say to your customers.
So if you’re running marketing for a dispensary — whether in California, Ohio, Florida, or beyond — here’s what legalization really means for your loyalty strategy, and how to stay compliant without sacrificing growth.
1. Every State Has Its Own Rules And They’re Not Optional
Cannabis may be legal in your state, but that doesn’t mean cannabis marketing is unrestricted.
Some states (like California or Colorado) allow promotional messaging within guardrails. Others (like Florida, Ohio, or New York) have stricter bans on cannabis advertising, rewards programs, or discounts.
A few examples:
Florida bans loyalty points and rewards.
New York prohibits SMS marketing that encourages cannabis consumption.
Michigan requires opt-in consent and limits certain discount types.
If you’re marketing across multiple states or planning to expand — you need tools that flex with the law, not ones that risk non-compliance.
2. Loyalty Programs Are Safer — When Built the Right Way
Here’s the good news: customer loyalty programs are one of the most compliant-friendly ways to market cannabis.
But here’s the catch: SMS-based loyalty programs often don’t comply with state rules or mobile carrier policies. They get flagged, filtered, or outright banned.
Sticky Cards solves this.
It’s a wallet-based loyalty platform that replaces SMS with push notifications — sent straight to the lock screen via Apple or Google Wallet.
You get:
Legal, permission-based engagement
No carrier filtering
No SMS fees
No compliance guesswork
3. Push Notifications Are the Future of Cannabis Messaging
SMS is expensive. Email gets buried. Most cannabis apps go unused.
Push notifications delivered via digital wallet cards are the sweet spot.
They’re free to send
They land on the lock screen
They avoid SMS and email restrictions
They’re branded to your dispensary, not a third-party
And because Sticky Cards connects with your existing POS (like TechPOS or Treez), there’s no extra hardware or setup. Just smarter marketing that gets through.
4. Multi-State Operators Need Multi-State Flexibility
If you’re a single-store shop, you want loyalty that’s easy to manage.
If you’re an MSO, you need a platform that adapts to each state without rebuilding your tech stack every time.
Sticky Cards is already being used by dispensaries across the U.S. to:
Run compliant campaigns by state
Use the same wallet card branding across locations
Scale without adding SMS compliance risk
You keep your existing POS. You add wallet-based loyalty. You grow state by state.
5. Legalization Creates Opportunity. Loyalty Creates Retention.
Newly legalized markets are exploding with new customers. But they won’t stay loyal unless you give them a reason to.
Retention is the real growth strategy — especially in saturated markets like California, Oregon, and Michigan.
Sticky Cards helps retailers increase repeat visits by 20–30%, with loyalty that’s:
Easy to join (1-tap signups at checkout)
Hard to ignore (lock screen promos)
Built to scale (POS-friendly, fully branded)
Ready to Build a State-Smart Loyalty Plan?
Sticky Cards helps cannabis retailers navigate marketing compliance while driving loyalty and revenue in every legal market.
Whether you're in one state or ten, you're covered.
