Text your customers within Hawaii’s cannabis advertising rules

Hawaii has a medical-only cannabis program

Retail licensing and advertising rules are enforced by the Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation. For billboards, social media and other channels, see our cannabis advertising rules beyond texting.

These Hawaii rules bear on texting customers

Any such content may not depict cannabis use, children, celebrities, influencers or child-appealing cartoons, and may not include unsubstantiated, false or misleading health claims.

• HAR 11-850-145(a) prohibits a dispensary licensee from advertising in any media, including broadcast or electronic media such as the internet and social media.
• The only exception allows general contact, location and product-list information by website or by a private messaging system in which an individual requests the information (HAR 11-850-145(a)).
• Product descriptions in that permitted information are limited to the information specified in section 11-850-143 (HAR 11-850-145(a)).
• Advertising, product lists and menus may not depict cannabis use, smoking, a child, a celebrity or influencer, or cartoon figures appealing to children (HAR 11-850-145(c)(1)-(5)).
• Advertising, product lists and menus may not depict products that can be confused with food or candy, or use the words "candy" and "candies" (HAR 11-850-145(c)(6)-(7)).
• A dispensary and its employees may not make unsubstantiated, false or misleading health or benefit claims about its products (HAR 11-850-145(d)).

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 Hawaii’s rules apply to your program stays with you and your counsel.

Work with Sticky Cards in Hawaii

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