Text your Canadian customers with confidence under CASL and the Cannabis Act

Plenty of Canadian owners hold off on texting because they are unsure what a text can say without breaking CASL or section 24. The rules fit on one page: get consent, say who you are, honour STOP, and keep rewards out of the message.

CASL needs consent, identification and an unsubscribe in every text

• Consent. A commercial text needs express or implied consent. The CRTC says CASL covers SMS as well as email.
• Identification. Each message names who is sending and how to reach them.
• An unsubscribe. Every message includes a way to opt out. The CRTC gives replying STOP as an example, and an unsubscribe takes effect without delay and within 10 business days.

Implied consent runs out, and express consent lasts until it is withdrawn

CASL allows two kinds of consent. Express consent is an opt-in the customer chooses. Under section 10(1), the request has to set out clearly and simply what consent is for and who is asking, and a pre-checked box does not count. At the counter, that means a box the customer ticks themselves, with your store name beside it.

Implied consent comes from a business relationship, not an opt-in. Under section 10(10), a purchase from your store implies consent for two years from the day of the purchase, and an inquiry for six months. When that window closes, so does your consent to text that customer.

Express consent has no time limit unless the customer withdraws it, as the Government of Canada’s CASL guidance puts it. CRTC staff advise asking for express consent when you are unsure.

Texts beyond the sale itself are why express consent matters

Some texts need no consent at all. Section 6(6) exempts a message that solely facilitates, completes or confirms a transaction the customer already agreed to, such as an order-ready text. It still has to identify your store and include an unsubscribe.

A text about anything else, such as new arrivals, events or another visit, is a commercial message that needs consent. Implied consent from one purchase only covers those texts until its two-year window closes. Express consent keeps a text program running for as long as the customer wants it.

Asking by text has its own rule. Section 1(3) says a message that asks for consent to send commercial messages is also a commercial electronic message, so you can only text the request to someone who has already given consent. Ask in person or on a sign-up form instead.

The Cannabis Act allows informational texts to a named adult

• A general ban, with exceptions. Section 17(1) bans promoting cannabis unless the Act allows it.
• Messages to a named adult. Section 17(2)(a) allows informational and brand-preference promotion in a communication addressed to a named adult aged 18 or older.
• Your province’s legal age decides who you text. The Act’s 18 is the federal line, and the provincial age applies on top of it. Sticky SMS checks age at sign-up: 19 and over in Canada, 18 and over in Alberta.
• Informational means factual. Availability and price count as information. Brand-preference promotion is about a brand’s characteristics.
• No false or misleading promotion (section 18), and no testimonials or endorsements (section 17(1)).

Section 24 keeps rewards and freebies out of your texts

Section 24(1) bars a seller from giving cannabis free or as a reward for a purchase. It also bars offering anything else, including entry into a contest, or a service, as an inducement to buy cannabis.

Health Canada’s guidance shows where a loyalty program sits:

• A loyalty program is not an inducement in itself, but its benefits can be.
• Exchanging points for cannabis is a likely inducement, and so is a free product for joining.
• Discounts are judged case by case.
• A mailing list that only shares information is generally not an inducement.

Some provinces go further, so check yours before you text

Health Canada notes that each province and territory may have its own rules on top of the federal Act. British Columbia, for one, does not permit loyalty programs of any kind in cannabis retail stores. See the Canadian rules by province for yours.

Sticky SMS holds Canadian texts to the same strict rules as US texts

Sticky SMS by Sticky Cards is texting built into Sticky Cards, the loyalty and marketing platform for cannabis dispensaries. We file your Canadian short code with no filing fee, and we hold Canadian texts to the same strict content rules as US texts.

Each sign-up records the customer’s date of birth with their consent. For the rest of the texting rules, see the Sticky SMS guides for dispensaries.