8 Cannabis-Friendly CRMs That Won't Shut Down Your Account

As a dispensary owner, finding the proper email marketing and CRM platform feels like walking through a minefield. While most business owners choose from dozens of popular options, cannabis retailers face a harsh reality: many platforms will suspend your account without warning, even if you operate 100% legally.

We've experienced this frustration firsthand with our dispensary clients. To save you the headache of researching dozens of options (and potentially losing your valuable customer lists), our team decided to share first-hand stories about our experience with popular email marketing services to provide definitive answers about their cannabis policies.

Here's what we discovered about which platforms welcome your business—and which ones to avoid entirely.

Alpine IQ

Cannabis-specific platform: Yes

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

Alpine IQ stands out as a platform built specifically for cannabis businesses. Beyond email marketing, they offer integrated loyalty programs, robust segmentation capabilities, and direct menu integrations for dispensaries. If you're looking for a comprehensive solution designed with cannabis compliance in mind, this should be on your shortlist.

Springbig

Cannabis-specific platform: Yes THC content allowed: Yes CBD permitted content: Yes

Springbig is purpose-built for cannabis businesses, offering a comprehensive marketing, loyalty, and CRM solution. Their platform includes text message marketing capabilities, customizable loyalty programs, and seamless integration with most major dispensary POS systems. As a cannabis-focused service, they understand industry compliance requirements and explicitly provide tools for dispensary customer retention.

Klaviyo

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

Klaviyo has become a favorite among cannabis retailers for good reason. Their robust automation and segmentation capabilities let you target customers based on purchase history, preferences, and behaviors. This platform offers sophisticated marketing tools while maintaining a cannabis-friendly policy.

Hubspot

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

Hubspot representatives confirmed after consulting with their compliance team that they fully support cannabis clients. As a complete CRM system, they offer extensive features beyond email, including sales tracking, customer journey mapping, and marketing automation. Their platform is particularly valuable for dispensaries with a robust sales team.

MailerLite

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

MailerLite takes a smart approach by reviewing accounts before activation. This pre-screening benefits cannabis businesses by reducing the risk of unexpected shutdowns after you've built your list. They require businesses to have a physical location, which aligns with cannabis retail regulations in most states.

Flodesk

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

Flodesk offers a cannabis-friendly platform with a simple, flat-fee subscription model. Their user-friendly design templates are particularly appealing for brands that prioritize visual aesthetics. They confirmed support for cannabis businesses operating legally within their jurisdictions.

Email Octopus

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

This mid-sized email platform welcomes cannabis businesses. Its standard requirement is that all recipients explicitly opt-in to receive communications (a legal requirement for any email marketing). Its simple interface and affordable pricing make it accessible for dispensaries just starting their email marketing efforts.

Moosend

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: Yes

CBD permitted content: Yes

Moosend provided straightforward confirmation of their cannabis-friendly policy. Their platform offers solid reporting features and competitive pricing, making it accessible for smaller dispensaries and cannabis retailers.

Active Campaign

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC content allowed: No

CBD content allowed: Yes

Active Campaign clearly distinguishes between CBD and THC content. While it does not support businesses promoting THC products, it welcomes CBD-focused companies. Its platform offers extensive automation capabilities and integrations with other business tools.

Constant Contact

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC/CBD restrictions: Prohibits product images and e-commerce

While Constant Contact states you can technically promote a physical dispensary location, they prohibit product images and e-commerce links for cannabis products. Since effective email marketing relies heavily on visual content and product showcases, these restrictions make it impractical for most cannabis businesses.

Mailchimp

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC/CBD restrictions: Vague policy, frequent account suspensions

Mailchimp provided ambiguous responses regarding their cannabis policy. Their terms prohibit content promoting "illegal goods or services," but the application to state-legal cannabis businesses remains unclear. Many dispensaries have reported sudden account suspensions, making this platform particularly risky.

SendinBlue

Cannabis-specific platform: No

THC/CBD restrictions: Prohibits all cannabis content

SendinBlue explicitly stated they do not support any cannabis-related content, making them unsuitable for dispensaries or CBD retailers.

Beyond just accepting cannabis content, these features separate truly valuable platforms from basic options:

1. Automated customer journeys: Look for platforms that let you create triggered email sequences based on customer actions (first purchase, cart abandonment, birthdays, etc.)

2. Customer segmentation: The ability to divide your audience based on purchase history, preferences, and engagement level is crucial for effective cannabis marketing

3. POS integration: Your email platform should connect seamlessly with your dispensary POS system to capture purchase data and enable personalized marketing

4. Compliance features: Age-gating options and easy management of consent/opt-ins help maintain regulatory compliance

5. Performance analytics: Detailed insights into open rates, click-through rates, and conversion tracking help measure ROI and optimize your campaigns

Unlike social media followers or paid advertising (which can be restricted or removed at any time), your email list is an audience you own and can communicate with directly.

The average ROI for email marketing in retail is $42 for every $1 spent—and for dispensaries facing advertising restrictions, it's often even higher.

Choosing the right cannabis-friendly CRM and email platform from the start protects this valuable asset and prevents the devastating loss of customer data from unexpected account suspensions.

Provide to avoid your own email marketing horror stories. Tap our team for cannabis-specific email marketing services. We've helped dispensaries nationwide implement profit-driving email marketing on the cannabis CRMs that openly welcome us.

Book a free strategy call today to see if we're the right fit for your dispensary.