Texting About Weed is Now Blocked for Dispensaries

Have you noticed that your favorite delivery service has been leaving you on read when you text them? Major cell phone carriers have blocked dispensaries texting anything to do with cannabis to their customers.  Yes - you read that correctly; texting about weed is now blocked for dispensaries.

To the surprise of many dispensaries, delivery services included, texting is now a newly prohibited function of their business.  While dispensaries must go through some of the most rigorous and expensive licensing in any industry to become a legally licensed business, they are now facing the fact that they will no longer be able to communicate with their customers via text.

Are you used to texting your favorite service "Hey, can I get an 8th of GSC and a pre roll"?  Those days may be behind us, thanks to the FCC, CTIA,  Twilio, and major cell phone carriers.  According to the new ruling about A2p 10DLC, any terms related to cannabis fall under the "Forbidden Message" category.

How do I place my cannabis orders without texting?

So, what do you do now? Luckily, online chats are enabled on our website! Currently, Mountain Remedy has an auto-populated response that will link our customers who text us to our chat feature.  Our Menu Experts receive these chats the same way they handle texts, so you will still get the same great service!  You can also place your order directly on mountainremedy.com.  If you have questions about an order you placed, the chat is right at the top right of the screen!

Can I still call you and ask questions about cannabis products?

Yes! We are still able to give you that personalized service you're looking for if you give us a call.  Speaking with a Menu Expert about what to choose for your delivery is a great way to get to know the menu better and pick the perfect product for you.

Will this affect texting my friends about weed?

Currently, P2P, or "consumer-level texting", is not monitored for forbidden messages.  This could change in the future as CTIA defines its rules for A2p and P2p differently than the FCC. While you won't get in trouble for texting your pals about weed, your local dispensaries could get removed from their customer service platforms for responding to your questions about cannabis via text.

Weed is legal where I live, why is this happening?

Cannabis is legal at a state level here in California. However, the cannabis industry is still roadblocked by many regulations that are inter-state.  Everyone in the industry is hoping that in the future when cannabis is federally legalized many of these issues will be cleared up.

You may have noticed your weekly text notifications about specials and promotions are getting more and more cryptic.  This is due to an ever-expanding "no-no" list of terms the cell carriers are scrubbing messages and images for.  If a message or image has any of the keywords (or images!) that are blocked, that companies service will be cut off.

What can I do about this?

Contact your local government such as Barbara Lee, Congresswoman for the 13th District, and ask that they overturn these cannabis restrictions!