What this glossary covers
This page is a cannabis texting glossary for dispensary operators, compliance owners, and performance marketers who send SMS in regulated environments. It translates telecom and carrier ecosystem terms into plain English, then explains how each term affects deliverability, consent, opt-outs, and campaign performance.
Use this glossary when reviewing consent records, sender registration, message status or an automated workflow. Start with provider eligibility, consent, opt-out and A2P 10DLC. These terms describe separate checks; none establishes that a particular business or message may use a route. For product options, see Blackleaf Texting, available with supported existing POS systems without a switch to Blackleaf POS. Confirm the connection, fields and timing for your setup.
Related Blackleaf resources you will likely reference while reading: cannabis texting platform overview, cannabis SMS compliance guide, 10DLC for dispensaries, and SMS deliverability fundamentals.
The main distinction
Consent records describe permission, registration identifies the sender and declared use case, and delivery status reports a messaging outcome. None guarantees legal compliance or delivery. A provider may prohibit a business category regardless of the message wording or operational purpose. For example, Twilio prohibits cannabis and CBD businesses from SMS and MMS in the United States and Canada, regardless of content. Check the actual provider rules; this example does not establish another route’s eligibility.
Key terms to keep separate
A failed message can reflect provider policy, registration, recipient information, account configuration or network conditions. Diagnose it from the available status and error evidence.
Consent is a data asset: how it was captured, what it covered, and how you prove it matters as much as the phone number.
A2P registration identifies a sender and declared use case. Approval does not override a provider restriction or establish recipient permission.
State licensing and provider eligibility are separate questions. Avoid treating a list of words as a way around a business-category prohibition.
Order, support and promotional messages have different purposes. Their purpose alone does not establish consent, route eligibility or likely delivery.
Throttling controls send speed and segmentation selects an audience. Neither fixes a prohibited use case or missing recipient permission.
Review a texting workflow
Map your message types: transactional, informational, support, loyalty, and marketing. If you are unsure, review order alerts and two-way inbox patterns first.
Audit consent capture: where it happens, what the customer saw and how you store proof. Blackleaf requires explicit recipient consent and age confirmation before any text, including service and support. In the message flow, the intended recipient verifies by selecting the birthday on file; never disclose the saved birthday. These are Blackleaf company requirements, separate from legal and provider review. See age and intended-recipient checks, Blackleaf compliance and cannabis SMS compliance.
Confirm that the actual provider supports the business and proposed use case before pursuing applicable registration. Verify the sender identity, campaign purpose and consent process against that provider’s requirements. See 10DLC for dispensaries and regulated SMS API for related terminology.
Review templates for the real sender, purpose, audience and applicable requirements. SMS message templates are starting points for review, not approval or a way to bypass provider restrictions.
Choose a workflow from your actual need and available data. Document its trigger, recipient checks, suppression rules and ownership before evaluating outcomes. Review automations and mass texting as different operating modes, without assuming one delivers better.
Measure delivery and outcomes together. Use the metrics section below, then iterate with segmentation and throttling outlined on SMS deliverability.
Records and controls to verify
Documented opt-in flow with timestamp, source, and consent language version
Clear opt-out instructions that work (STOP and equivalent keywords) and suppression applied quickly
Registered sender identity where applicable (brand and campaign) and consistent use of the same sending route
Message library split by intent: transactional, support, loyalty, marketing
Send-rate controls (throttling) and segmentation rules based on customer behavior
Deliverability monitoring and a playbook for carrier filtering events
Audit trail for complaints, opt-outs, and list hygiene actions
Compare message purposes
These purposes help organize a review. Every row still requires recipient permission, applicable age checks, suppression handling and a provider that permits the business and use case. The table does not establish availability or predict delivery, revenue or customer satisfaction. On smaller screens, scroll each table horizontally to read every column.
| Option | Common purpose | Review requirements | Example workflows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transactional automations | Tied to a specific order or account event | Limited promotional reach, depends on trigger quality | Order updates, pickup readiness, post-visit follow-up (order alerts, automations) |
| Two-way support messaging | Allows a customer conversation and staff response | Needs staffing, response expectations and recipient controls | Customer support and issue resolution (inbox) |
| Segmented marketing campaigns | Can address a defined marketing audience | Needs campaign-specific permission, frequency review and clear measurement | Loyalty segments and high-intent customers (mass texting, dispensary text marketing) |
| API-driven event messaging | Can use documented software events where the connection is supported | Requires engineering discipline and monitoring | Multi-location brands and integrations (regulated SMS API, smart routing) |
Diagnose problems from delivery evidence
Start with the exact status, error, time window and affected workflow. A symptom is a prompt to investigate, not proof of a particular cause. Pause the affected workflow when eligibility or consent is unresolved; changing words, splitting campaigns or rotating senders does not create permission.
| Symptom | Possible cause to investigate | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered rate drops suddenly across carriers | Carrier filtering event, traffic spike, or content risk | Pause the affected traffic and inspect actual status/error evidence, account state and provider eligibility before retrying. Review deliverability. |
| High STOP rate on a specific campaign | Consent mismatch, frequency too high, or message not expected | Reduce frequency, tighten segments, confirm opt-in source, adjust value exchange, use templates |
| Messages deliver to some carriers but not others | Carrier-specific filtering thresholds or route differences | Compare the available error evidence and review the configured route and registration with the provider. Do not rotate numbers or routes to evade a restriction. See 10DLC. |
| Customers say they never opted in | Poor consent capture, missing audit trail, shared list imports | Harden opt-in flow, store proof, stop sending to imported contacts without clear consent, reference compliance |
| Campaign approved but still filtered | Registration does not override provider policy, recipient requirements or delivery failures | Confirm that the actual business and use case are permitted, then review the error evidence with the provider. See cannabis compliance. |
Common terminology questions
Question: Do dispensaries need written consent to text customers?
Answer: Applicable legal consent requirements depend on the workflow and rules that govern it. Review those requirements separately. For Blackleaf, explicit recipient consent and age confirmation are required before any text, including service and support; keep retrievable consent records. A phone number, purchase or order event alone is not proof of permission.
Question: What is A2P 10DLC and why does it matter for cannabis?
Answer: A2P 10DLC is a US business-messaging registration framework for ten-digit long-code senders. Brand and campaign registration describe the sender, use case and consent process. Registration does not make an otherwise prohibited business eligible. See 10DLC for dispensaries.
Question: Why do some cannabis SMS messages get blocked even when they are compliant in my state?
Answer: State law, provider policy and delivery outcomes are separate. A provider can prohibit a business or use case even when it is licensed locally, and an eligible message can still fail for other reasons. Review SMS deliverability and cannabis SMS compliance.
Question: What is SHAFT content risk?
Answer: SHAFT is industry shorthand for restricted or sensitive content categories. The exact rules depend on the provider and route, and restrictions can apply to the business itself. It is not a universal banned-word list; removing a term does not make a prohibited use case eligible.
Question: Are MMS images safer or riskier than SMS for cannabis?
Answer: Neither format establishes eligibility. Review the business, route, audience, message and linked destination against the actual provider requirements. MMS or an image does not provide an exception to an SMS/MMS prohibition. See SMS templates for review examples.
Question: How often should a dispensary text customers?
Answer: Frequency should be controlled by complaint risk, segment intent, and your list’s engagement. A practical operator rule is: start lower, segment heavily, and let customer behavior determine cadence. For campaign mode, use mass texting with throttling and opt-out monitoring.
Question: What is the difference between transactional and marketing messages?
Answer: Transactional messages relate to an order or account event; marketing messages promote a business, product or future purchase. A label does not settle the applicable requirements, and mixed messages need review. Operational purpose does not waive Blackleaf recipient checks or a provider prohibition. Compare order alerts and dispensary text marketing.
Question: What should I do first if deliverability drops?
Answer: Pause the affected workflow while you review status/error evidence, sender and account state, eligibility, recipient permission and suppression. Compare carriers or templates only where that reporting is actually available. Use deliverability as a diagnostic guide; do not retry a prohibited use case with different wording.
Question: How do I operationalize compliance without slowing down marketing?
Answer: Document the sender, purpose, recipient checks, consent evidence, suppression rules and review owner for each workflow. Templates and automation do not replace approvals or establish compliance. Review automations and campaigns against the same requirements.
Common Mistakes
These assumptions can leave a program without the evidence needed to explain permission, eligibility or a delivery outcome:
Importing old lists without provable opt-in and then blasting a high-volume campaign.
Mixing intents in one stream, for example sending order updates and promotions from the same flow without clear customer expectations.
Treating send-rate controls as a substitute for provider eligibility or recipient permission.
Assuming different wording, an image or an operational label overrides a business-category prohibition.
Ignoring STOP rate and complaint signals until deliverability collapses.
Assuming registration alone prevents filtering, instead of managing behavior and relevance.
Use SMS message templates to organize a review, then confirm the requirements for the actual workflow before any send.
Delivery and business metrics
Keep delivery reports separate from engagement and business outcomes. State the provider’s status definitions, reporting window and denominator, and report only fields that are actually available.
Delivery rate: The share of messages with the provider’s delivered status, using a stated denominator. It is not an SMS read receipt or proof of a purchase; review unresolved and failed statuses separately. Compare reports at the same time after each send ends, using the same denominator. The worked delivery report example shows how a later receipt updates the original attempt.
STOP rate: The share of recipients in a defined group who reply STOP during the reporting window. Count each recipient once and state whether the group includes all attempted recipients or only recipients with confirmed delivery. Use the same rule for each comparison. If the report counts only STOP replies, track other withdrawal requests separately.
Complaint rate: Reported complaints where that evidence is available. Record the source, reporting limits and affected workflow; absence of a visible complaint is not proof that a message was wanted.
Click-through rate: Recorded link interactions under your reporting method. Clicks do not establish message reading, recipient identity or incremental sales.
Conversion and revenue per send: Attributed orders or revenue under a defined reporting window. Attribution is not causal lift; review costs, margins and comparison design before making ROI claims.
Time-to-first-response (two-way): Elapsed time to a staff response under a defined service measure. Do not infer customer satisfaction or opt-out effects from response time alone. See inbox workflows.
Review SMS deliverability for diagnostics, smart routing for related routing terms and the SMS ROI measurement guide for attribution and cost definitions. Routing changes do not override provider restrictions.
Telecom and consent glossary
The glossary below is written for cannabis retail operations, not generic SMS marketing. Each definition tells you what the term means and what it changes in real-world sending.
| Term | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| API (Application Programming Interface) | A documented way for software systems to exchange requests and results. Confirm the supported operation, fields and access for your workflow. API access does not establish recipient permission. Start with the Blackleaf API integration overview. |
| Webhook | An HTTP notification sent to a configured application URL when an event occurs, such as a status change, reply or opt-out. Check the event type and documented fields before acting; a notification is not automatically a delivery confirmation. Compare the campaign webhook examples. |
| Acknowledgment | An initial response confirming receipt or submission as defined by that operation. It does not by itself prove that background work completed, a record was saved or a message was delivered. Use the endpoint-specific result checks; see contact acknowledgments and saved-record checks. |
| Sandbox | A testing environment for a documented workflow. Blackleaf’s messaging sandbox simulates SMS/MMS and application 2FA delivery without sending a text to a handset. Do not assume every API resource is isolated. Optional real AI validation can incur charges; contact updates and real webhook callbacks can still occur. See the messaging sandbox guide. |
| Delivery receipt (DLR) | A provider status report for a message attempt. Match it to the message ID and use the provider’s status definitions to interpret the outcome. If the final receipt is missing, keep the outcome unresolved. See the delivery evidence table. |
| Simulated delivery | A test outcome produced without real carrier or handset delivery. A simulated “delivered” status is not a production delivery receipt, recipient engagement, sender readiness or content approval. Keep simulated records separate from production delivery reporting. |
| SMS segment | One part of an SMS. Length and character encoding determine how many segments a text uses, even if the recipient sees one text. Blackleaf prices SMS per segment and MMS per message. Estimate the segments in your final SMS, including personalization, links and opt-out wording. |
| A2P (Application-to-Person) | Business messaging sent from software to customers, not from one individual to another. Most dispensary texting is A2P and is evaluated differently by carriers. |
| 10DLC | US A2P business messaging using ten-digit long-code numbers with brand and campaign registration. Registration is separate from provider eligibility and recipient permission. See 10DLC for dispensaries. |
| Brand registration | Registration of the sending business identity. It does not approve every message or establish that recipients agreed to receive it. |
| Campaign registration | Registration of a declared messaging use case and consent process. The actual workflow must meet applicable requirements; approval does not override a provider prohibition. |
| Carrier filtering | Automated and policy-based blocking or limiting done by mobile carriers based on trust signals, complaints, and content patterns. It can affect compliant messages. |
| Consent (opt-in) | Documented permission for a stated sender and messaging purpose, with retrievable evidence. Blackleaf separately requires age confirmation before any text; a purchase or phone number alone does not prove consent. |
| Opt-out (STOP) | A request to stop receiving texts. STOP is one example. If a customer asks in plain language, record the request and apply suppression across the affected message types before further outreach. See the withdrawal handling checklist. |
| Transactional message | A text tied to an order or account event. The label does not waive recipient checks or provider requirements, or predict delivery. Example: order alerts. |
| Promotional message | A marketing text intended to drive future purchases. These create higher complaint and filtering risk if consent and relevance are weak. |
| SHAFT content risk | Industry shorthand for restricted or sensitive content categories. Check the actual provider policy, including business restrictions. This is not a list of words to remove to gain approval. |
| Throughput | The sending rate permitted or supported by a particular account, sender or route. Confirm its units and limits with the provider; available capacity is not permission to send. |
| Throttling | Intentionally limiting the rate at which messages are submitted or sent. It manages traffic within configured limits; it does not cure missing consent or a prohibited use case. |
| Two-way messaging | Messaging that allows replies and staff responses. It still needs permission, age checks, suppression and an eligible route; it does not guarantee fewer complaints. See inbox. |
| Short code | A 5 to 6 digit number used for high-volume messaging. Not always necessary for dispensaries, and still requires consent and compliance controls. |
| Long code | A standard 10-digit phone number used for messaging. With A2P 10DLC, long codes can support business messaging with vetted identity. |
| Sender reputation | A term for how a provider evaluates a sender’s history and traffic signals. The scoring method and available evidence vary; do not assume a universal score is visible. |
| List hygiene | Keeping your list clean by removing invalid numbers, honoring opt-outs, and avoiding stale contacts that increase complaints and filtering risk. |
| Smart routing | Rules for handling a message through supported sending paths. Routing must remain within provider and account requirements; it is not a filtering bypass. See smart routing. |
| Automation trigger | An event that starts a configured workflow, such as an order update. Recipient checks, suppression and available event data still need review; the trigger does not authorize a send. See automations. |
| Suppression list | A system list of numbers you must not text, including STOP opt-outs and do-not-contact records. This is a compliance and deliverability control. |
| TCPA | A US law framework that governs certain types of calls and texts, focusing heavily on consent and consumer protection. You should operationalize consent proof and opt-out handling. |
Sources and further reading
Provider-specific business eligibility: Twilio error 30860 documents its cannabis/CBD SMS and MMS prohibition in the United States and Canada, regardless of message content.
Delivery reporting terminology: Twilio outbound message-status guide distinguishes message lifecycle statuses; these are provider-specific definitions, not a claim that a Blackleaf route uses Twilio.
CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices: industry guidance used across the carrier ecosystem for expectations on non-consumer messaging behavior and enforcement: https://api.ctia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/230523-CTIA-Messaging-Principles-and-Best-Practices-FINAL.pdf
Current TCPA delivery and consent regulations: 47 CFR § 64.1200. The FCC’s 2023 one-to-one consent restrictions were vacated on January 24, 2025; see the Eleventh Circuit opinion and our updated consent-rule explainer.
The Campaign Registry’s 10DLC ecosystem overview explains brand and campaign registration roles. Registration does not override a provider’s business or content restrictions.
Federal Trade Commission Telemarketing Sales Rule resources explaining telemarketing compliance expectations, recordkeeping, and consumer protections: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-telemarketing-sales-rule
FCC document DA-25-312 provides regulatory interpretation and timing context; review current rules for the actual workflow.
Happy Cabbage (Happy Marketers)
Happy Marketers was the text and email marketing suite associated with Happy Cabbage. In June 2025, the marketing product was acquired by Alpine IQ. See our update here: Happy Cabbage Texting Explained.