Text your customers within Colorado’s cannabis advertising rules

Colorado has an adult-use and medical cannabis program

Retail licensing and advertising rules are enforced by the Colorado Department of Revenue, Marijuana Enforcement Division. For billboards, social media and other channels, see our cannabis advertising rules beyond texting.

These Colorado rules bear on texting customers

The rules also prohibit deceptive or misleading advertising, content that targets people under 21, safety claims based on state regulation or testing, unsolicited pop-up ads, and giving away retail marijuana for any reason.

• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 1-115 defines Advertising as providing consideration for the publication or circulation of visual, oral or written communication to directly induce a person to patronize a business or buy regulated marijuana.
• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 3-720(A), (B) allows a retail marijuana business to advertise via the internet, television, radio or print only where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 or older, and applies the same threshold to medical businesses.
• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 3-745 prohibits advertising via marketing directed at location-based devices such as cellular phones unless it is a mobile app installed by an owner 21 or older that includes a permanent and easy opt-out feature.
• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 3-750 prohibits unsolicited pop-up advertising on the internet.
• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 3-705(A) prohibits advertising that is deceptive, false or misleading.
• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 3-740(B) prohibits any form of advertising content that specifically targets individuals under 21, including cartoon characters.
• The rules prohibit advertising that asserts products are safe because they are regulated by the State Licensing Authority or tested by a licensed testing facility (1 CCR 212-3, Rules 3-725 and 3-730).
• 1 CCR 212-3, Rule 6-110(H) prohibits a retail marijuana store from giving away retail marijuana to a consumer for any reason.

Start with consent, your store name and an opt-out line

• Text only people who opted in, and keep the record of when and how they did. Our guide to SMS opt-in and consent for dispensaries covers what to record.
• Put your store name first and an opt-out line on every text.
• Keep product details, prices and offers on an age-gated page rather than in the text, and check the wording against our list of banned words in cannabis texts.

Sticky SMS, by Sticky Cards, the loyalty and marketing platform for cannabis dispensaries, files your 10DLC registration with The Campaign Registry, with no charge for the number or the registration, and most stores are live in 1 to 2 days. How Colorado’s rules apply to your program stays with you and your counsel.

Work with Sticky Cards in Colorado

• Run a dispensary, CBD or vape shop in Colorado? Book a demo to see Sticky SMS.
• Run a texting agency in Colorado? Sticky Cards is looking for expert texting partner agencies in Colorado. Email support@stickycards.co to talk about working together.