Text Canadian customers within the Cannabis Act, CASL and your province’s rules

The Cannabis Act and CASL apply across Canada

Each rule below links to its source. For consent wording and a worked text, see our guide to texting cannabis customers under CASL and the Cannabis Act.

The Cannabis Act allows factual texts to a named adult

• The Cannabis Act prohibits promoting cannabis, cannabis accessories and related services unless the Act authorizes it, and communicating price or distribution information is listed as a form of promotion (Cannabis Act, s.17(1)(a)).
• A person authorized to sell cannabis may use informational or brand-preference promotion in a communication addressed and sent to a named individual who is 18 or older (Cannabis Act, s.17(2)(a)).
• Informational promotion is defined as factual information, including the availability or price of cannabis (Cannabis Act, s.2(1), definition of informational promotion).
• Brand-preference promotion is defined as promotion by means of brand characteristics (Cannabis Act, s.2(1), definition of brand-preference promotion).
• Section 17(2) also allows informational and brand-preference promotion by telecommunication where reasonable steps keep it from young persons (Cannabis Act, s.17(2)(c)).
• Promotion at the point of sale is limited to availability and price (Cannabis Act, s.17(4)).
• Promotion that is false, misleading or deceptive is prohibited (Cannabis Act, s.18(1)).

The Cannabis Act bans inducements to buy cannabis

• Sellers may not provide or offer cannabis or accessories free of charge or in exchange for a purchase or service (Cannabis Act, s.24(1)(a)).
• Sellers may not offer non-cannabis items, including entry into a game, draw, lottery or contest, as an inducement to buy cannabis (Cannabis Act, s.24(1)(b)).
• Sellers may not offer a service as an inducement to buy cannabis (Cannabis Act, s.24(1)(c)).
• Health Canada guidance says loyalty programs are not inducements on their own, but the benefits offered through them could be (Health Canada, Promotion of cannabis: Prohibitions and permissions in the Cannabis Act and Regulations).
• Health Canada notes that provinces and territories may have additional rules (Health Canada, Promotion of cannabis: Prohibitions and permissions in the Cannabis Act and Regulations).
• Health Canada says sellers cannot give loyalty program members benefits as an inducement to buy cannabis or accessories (Health Canada, Promotion of cannabis: Prohibitions and permissions in the Cannabis Act and Regulations).
• Health Canada says information-only programs, such as mailing lists about upcoming product releases, would generally not be inducements, though other promotion rules still apply (Health Canada, Promotion of cannabis: Prohibitions and permissions in the Cannabis Act and Regulations).
• Health Canada says the seller must make sure a price is not an inducement, and that a very low sale price may be one (Health Canada, Promotion of cannabis: Prohibitions and permissions in the Cannabis Act and Regulations).

CASL requires consent and a working unsubscribe

• CASL prohibits sending a commercial electronic message without the recipient's express or implied consent (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (S.C. 2010, c. 23), s.6(1)(a)).
• CASL implies consent when the sender has an existing business relationship with the recipient, and a purchase from the sender counts for two years from the day of the purchase (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.10(9)(a) and s.10(10)(a)).
• An inquiry or application implies consent for only six months (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.10(10)(e)).
• A request for express consent must state clearly and simply what the consent is for and who is asking for it (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.10(1)(a) and (b)).
• The CRTC states that express consent is not time-limited and lasts until the recipient says they no longer want messages, while implied consent can expire (CRTC, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) Guidance on Implied Consent).
• Government of Canada guidance says implied consent is generally time-limited, while express consent has no time limit unless the recipient withdraws it (Government of Canada (ISED), Getting consent to send email).
• The CRTC advises asking for express consent whenever you are unsure whether implied consent applies (CRTC, Frequently Asked Questions about Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation).
• The CRTC states that an abandoned online shopping cart is not a purchase and does not start the two-year implied consent period (CRTC, Frequently Asked Questions about Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation).
• The sender must be able to prove consent, whether express or implied (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.13).
• A message that solely facilitates, completes or confirms a transaction the recipient already agreed to does not need consent (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.6(6)(b)).
• A message that asks for consent to send commercial messages is itself a commercial electronic message (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.1(3)).
• Each commercial electronic message must identify the sender, give contact information and include an unsubscribe mechanism (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.6(2)(a) to (c)).
• Unsubscribe requests must be given effect without delay and within 10 business days (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, s.11(3)).
• The CRTC states that CASL covers SMS and other messaging to mobile phones (CRTC, Frequently Asked Questions about Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation).
• The CRTC states that express consent must be opt-in and cannot be obtained with a pre-checked box (CRTC, Frequently Asked Questions about Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation).
• The CRTC gives texting STOP as an example of an SMS unsubscribe mechanism (CRTC, Frequently Asked Questions about Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation).

CASL allows two kinds of consent. Express consent is an opt-in the customer chooses, and it has no time limit unless the customer withdraws it (Government of Canada, Getting consent). Implied consent comes from a business relationship: a purchase implies consent for two years and an inquiry for six months (CASL, s.10(10)(a) and (e)). When that window closes, so does your consent to text that customer, which is why express consent is the safer base for a text program. Our guide to SMS opt-in and consent for dispensaries covers what to record.

Provinces differ most on loyalty and inducements

• British Columbia does not permit loyalty programs, Nunavut prohibits loyalty programs based on cannabis sales, and Yukon bars retailers from encouraging consumption, including through loyalty or similar programs (Cannabis Licensing Regulation (Yukon), O.I.C. 2019/43, s.7(e)).
• Ontario bans giving any other thing or benefit as an inducement to buy cannabis, and Alberta prohibits programs that offer cannabis, accessories or discounts on them based on another purchase.
• In Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, cannabis is sold by the government retailer.

Each province and territory page cites its own regulator’s rules

Sticky SMS, by Sticky Cards, the loyalty and marketing platform for cannabis dispensaries, files your Canadian short code with no filing fee, and holds Canadian texts to the same strict content rules as US texts.