A usable cannabis content checklist names concrete checks: no disease claims, age gate working, state warnings present, license number shown where required, nothing that appeals to minors, and channel rules for email and SMS. Run it before anything publishes, and assign one person to own it.
Why written checks beat good intentions
Cannabis content usually comes from several hands — an in-house marketer, freelancers, an agency, whoever updates the menu. Each has a different memory of the rules. A written checklist moves the compliance knowledge out of heads and into the workflow, so the intern's blog post gets the same review as the founder's. Regulators read licensee websites and social accounts when complaints come in; the checklist is what makes sure there is nothing there to find.
The checks worth writing down
Adapt this starter set to your state's marketing rules:
- No disease or therapeutic claims (treat, cure, prevent, named conditions) anywhere, including republished testimonials — FDA and FTC territory.
- Age gate live and rendering on every template, gating at 21+ (or your medical program's age).
- State-mandated warnings and disclaimers present on ads and product content; California, for example, requires the license number in advertising.
- Nothing that appeals to minors: no cartoons, candy look-alikes, or youth-oriented imagery, a standard prohibition in state rules like Colorado's.
- Marketing reaches only where you are licensed; geo-target campaigns and landing pages accordingly.
- Email follows CAN-SPAM (unsubscribe, physical address, honest subject) and skips THC-heavy wording that trips ESP and carrier filters.
- SMS sends only to TCPA written-consent opt-ins.
- User-generated content and review widgets moderated for medical claims.
What this looks like in practice
A writer files a post titled best strains for anxiety relief. The pre-publish check flags the condition claim, and the piece ships instead as a guide to calming terpene profiles: linalool, myrcene, strain lineage, lab results. Same search audience, no drug claim. The same week, the checklist catches an email draft with a THC percentage in the subject line — a detail that would have raised deliverability and platform problems before any customer saw it. Ten minutes of review, two incidents that never happened.
Give it an owner and a revision date
A checklist nobody maintains drifts into fiction. Assign one person to own it, note the date of the state marketing rules it reflects, and revisit it when your regulator updates them or you enter a new state. Add a quarterly pass over older posts, because content written under last year's understanding is still live and still yours. Keep the document short enough that people actually use it; one page beats a binder.
Key takeaways
- Written checks applied pre-publish beat individual judgment across writers and agencies.
- The high-value items: disease claims, age gate, state warnings and license numbers, minor appeal, geo scope, email and SMS rules, testimonials.
- Assign an owner, date the version, and re-check quarterly and on every rule change.
Frequently asked questions
What should a cannabis content compliance checklist include?
Health-claim screening, age-gate verification, state-required warnings and license numbers, appeal-to-minors review, geographic scope, CAN-SPAM and TCPA checks for email and SMS, and moderation of testimonials and user content. Base the specifics on your own state's marketing regulations.
Who should run the checklist?
One named owner maintains it; whoever publishes applies it. The owner keeps it current against state rule changes, and writers and agencies run it on every piece before it goes live. Splitting ownership across a team is how checks quietly stop happening.
When in the workflow should it run?
Before publication, as a gate rather than an audit. Fixing a condition claim in a draft costs minutes; the same claim found later means edits, cache clearing, and content that sat exposed in the meantime. A quarterly sweep of older content backs up the pre-publish gate.
Do testimonials really need checking?
Yes. Under the FTC Endorsement Guides, a review you feature or repost becomes your own marketing claim, so a customer saying a product cured their insomnia turns into your drug claim the moment it hits a product page or social post. Moderate what you amplify.
Does a checklist replace legal review?
No. It catches the recurring, known issues cheaply and consistently, which is most of the risk in day-to-day publishing. New campaign concepts, new states, and anything borderline still deserve a lawyer who knows cannabis marketing rules.
General information for cannabis marketers, not legal advice.
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