The Salesmsg Messaging Policy prohibits the sending of messages about any illegal activity in the jurisdiction where the recipient resides. This policy includes messaging related to cannabis (marijuana) and cannabidiol (CBD) in the United States and many other countries.
SMS and MMS
The United States
SMS and MMS messages related to cannabis or CBD products are not permitted in the United States. This is due to federal laws prohibiting the sale of cannabis and the sale of CBD products in certain states. The policy reflects the rules of US carriers in this area and does not allow for any exceptions.
Salesmsg defines a cannabis-related message as any message that relates to the marketing or sale of a cannabis product, even if it does not explicitly mention cannabis or include images or links to cannabis websites.
Canada
Cannabis is not an illicit substance in Canada, nor is CBD. Messaging that deals with age-restricted content (such as cannabis, but also including alcohol, gambling, etc.) is generally allowed in Canada, but may be subject to scrutiny by Canada telecom authorities. If you intend to send cannabis-related traffic in Canada, it is crucial that you have proper age gating in place for your messages, to avoid compliance risks. Please note: Cannabis and CBD-related traffic is prohibited on Toll-Free Numbers.
Other countries
In many countries, cannabis and CBD products are illegal. Sending messages about cannabis in these countries violates Twilio's messaging policy. In countries where cannabis is fully legal, message traffic is permitted unless prohibited by local carrier rules. Twilio will publish any relevant restrictions on the SMS Guidelines page for the specific country. If you are unsure about the legality or compliance of your use case in a given country, it is recommended that you seek legal advice.
How We Handle Violations
If a violation of our principles is identified, we will work with the customer to bring them back into compliance with this policy whenever possible. However, to protect the ability of all customers to use messaging for legitimate purposes, we reserve the right to suspend or remove access to Salesmsg's platform for customers or end users who are not complying with the messaging policy or following the law in any applicable area or industry guidelines or standards. In some cases, serious violations of this policy may result in limited notice before access is suspended or removed.