Text your customers within Iowa’s cannabis advertising rules

Iowa has a medical-only cannabis program

Retail licensing and advertising rules are enforced by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Medical Cannabidiol Program). For billboards, social media and other channels, see our cannabis advertising rules beyond texting.

These Iowa rules bear on texting customers

Advertisements may not offer prizes or inducements tied to purchases, other than non-product-specific price discounts, and may not contain false, misleading or child-appealing content.

• Iowa Code 124E.9(11) requires a medical cannabidiol dispensary to follow department restrictions on signage, marketing, display and advertising.
• The rules define an advertisement as any representation disseminated by any means, other than labeling, to induce a purchase (641 IAC 154.1).
• Every advertisement must be submitted to the department at the same time as, or before, it is disseminated, and the department may require disclosures, changes or removal (641 IAC 154.22(3)).
• Advertisements may not offer a prize, award or inducement related to a purchase, except that non-product-specific price discounts are allowed (641 IAC 154.22(2)(a)(11)).
• Advertisements may not contain false or misleading statements, and safety or efficacy statements must be supported by substantial evidence, clinical data or direct patient testimonials (641 IAC 154.22(2)(a)(3), (a)(9)).
• Advertisements may not contain content that reasonably appeals to or targets children, such as cartoons, celebrities or child-appealing fonts and colors (641 IAC 154.22(2)(a)(6)).
• Advertisements may not use colloquial references to cannabis or strain names, or encourage recreational use (641 IAC 154.22(2)(a)(1)-(2), (a)(8)).
• A dispensary must include medical cannabidiol pricing and hours of operation on its website (641 IAC 154.22(1)).

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

Work with Sticky Cards in Iowa

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