Write texts that arrive and bring people in
A dispensary text that works has five parts: your store name first, one reason to visit, a branded link, a time or date, and a STOP line. It reads like a store update from people the customer knows, not an ad. Product words and deals stay on your age-gated page, which keeps the text safer from filters.
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Write texts that read like a note from people the customer knows
A text gets tapped when the customer knows who sent it at a glance and has one reason to act. Your regulars know your store name and your budtenders, so write the way the store talks at the counter.
This is for anyone writing texts for a dispensary, from the owner to an agency.
Build every text in the same order: name, reason, time, link, STOP
Lead with your store name
The first words tell the reader and the carrier who is texting.
Give one reason to visit
New arrivals, new hours, an event. One idea per text.
Add a time
This weekend, until Sunday, from 9am. A time gives a reason to act now.
Link on your own domain
A branded short link, never a public shortener.
End with STOP
Reply STOP to opt out, on every text.
Two texts that follow the order
Kendall's
Kendall's: new arrivals landed this morning and the team has favorites to show you. See them at stky.ca/kendalls-new before the weekend. Reply STOP to opt out.
Kendall's
Kendall's: we are open late on Friday, until 11pm. Plan your visit at stky.ca/kendalls. Reply STOP to opt out.
Leave product words, prices and deals out of the text. They belong on your age-gated page. See the full list of words to avoid in cannabis texts, and run a draft through the banned word checker before it goes out.
To stay clear, Canadian versions of these texts are store updates with no purchase-linked reward or discount, sent on express consent under Canada’s anti-spam law.
Measure taps and the revenue that follows
- Tap-through rate by text, to learn which reasons work.
- Revenue from people who tapped through. The SMS attribution guide shows how to tie a tap to the order that follows.
- Opt-outs per send.
For why carriers filter some texts and not others, see the Sticky SMS guides for dispensaries.
Build your text program with us
Book a time and we will walk through your list, your POS and the texts you want to send, on a video call with a real person.
Book a demoFrequently asked questions
How long should a dispensary text be?
Under 160 plain characters if you can, so it sends as one segment. Check a draft with the SMS character and cost counter.
What should never go in a dispensary text?
Product names, effects, prices, discounts and health claims. They belong on your age-gated page, if anywhere.
Should I use emoji?
Sparingly. One emoji switches the whole text to Unicode (UCS-2). One segment then holds 70 characters, and a longer text splits into segments of 67, so a 160-character text that fit in one segment becomes three.
How often should I text?
A few times a month is a good start. Watch opt-outs: if they rise, text less.
Does Sticky SMS check texts before they send?
It checks MMS images. Sticky SMS by Sticky Cards, the loyalty and marketing platform for cannabis dispensaries, runs an AI compliance check on custom MMS images before sending, to lower the chance of carrier filtering. For plain texts, use the banned word checker.
Sources
- CTIA, Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023) (opens in a new tab), accessed October 18, 2026
- Cannabis Act (S.C. 2018, c. 16), sections 17 and 24, Justice Laws Website (opens in a new tab), accessed October 18, 2026
- Health Canada, Promotion of cannabis: prohibitions and permissions (opens in a new tab), accessed October 18, 2026
- CRTC, Frequently asked questions about Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (opens in a new tab), accessed October 18, 2026
- Twilio, What the heck is a segment? (SMS character limits) (opens in a new tab), accessed October 18, 2026