You cannot buy ads, so we earn the attention instead
Meta, Google, and TikTok all block dispensary ads, so the usual playbook is dead on arrival. Creators, in-store events, and a few clever workarounds are the channel you actually have.
Real campaigns in the wild
What cannabis and CBD influencer marketing actually looks like.
Cornbread Hemp × Bert Kreischer
Comedian podcast read deep in the episode, dedicated creator link, first-order discount.
CBD · comedian subs
Jump to the sponsor readCornbread Hemp × Jesse Michels
Long-form podcast read with a first-order discount on a creator link.
CBD · 538K subs
Jump to the sponsor readCBDistillery × Jamie O'Brien
Surf-channel read, code-based discount, dedicated store link.
CBD · 1.32M subs
Jump to the sponsor readCBDistillery × Salty Cracker
Commentary-channel read up front, seasonal sitewide discount, code-driven.
CBD · 902K subs
Jump to the sponsor readRange CBD × Melanie Patricia Cruz
Woven into a wellness routine as a muscle-recovery topical demo.
CBD wellness · 329K subs
Watch on YouTubeSmart BioHemp × BYOT
Product placement inside a build vlog, affiliate link, audience crossover.
Hemp · 576K subs
Jump to the sponsor readCbdbroshop × ItsCbdBro
Native to a weed-comedy channel, a product drop with a pre-order discount.
CBD accessories
Watch on YouTubeWhat we do
Here is the part nobody tells you when you open a dispensary. You can have the best shelf in the state, fair prices, and a beautiful store, and you still cannot run a single paid ad on Facebook, Instagram, Google, or TikTok. They reject cannabis outright. So the growth lever every other retailer leans on is just gone for you.
That sounds like a wall, and a lot of owners treat it like one. We treat it like the whole reason creators exist. A trusted local face can post about your store in a way an ad account never could, and the rules that block paid media do not block a person sharing where they like to shop. That is the gap we work in.
We build creator and experiential programs for dispensaries that cannot pay to be seen. We know the state and provincial advertising rules, the ones about showing product, showing people consuming, and age-gating your audience, because breaking them is how a license gets pulled. The creative has to be clever and clean at the same time.
Two campaigns taught us how far that can go, and we studied both from the outside. One Canadian shop grew sales without ever showing product. One US brand turned store openings into block parties and built a giant. Different tactics, same lesson. When you cannot shout, you make people want to come closer.
We have not run your store, and we will not pretend the rules are simple. But the channel you have left is a strong one, and most of your competitors are ignoring it. That is usually a good place to start.
Cannabis Dispensary, results we run on
Cannabis Dispensary, results we run on
+40%
New online checkouts
Stok'd dispensary, our outside analysis
+12%
Online sales lift
Stok'd dispensary, our outside analysis
1,000+
Lined up at one opening
STIIIZY campaign, our outside analysis
$1.5B
Brand built on events
STIIIZY campaign, our outside analysis
Why this category is different
What a dispensary program looks like when ads are off the table
Start with the constraint, because it shapes everything. The big platforms ban cannabis ads, and most states and provinces add their own rules on top, about showing product, showing people using it, making health claims, and proving your audience is of legal age. So the work is not just creative, it is creative that stays inside a narrow lane on purpose. We map your local rules first, then build around them.
A campaign we studied closely shows how far clever can go. A Canadian dispensary called Stok'd could not show product, people, or even the store in its ads. So the team ran ads for three real neighboring small businesses, loaded with cannabis double-meanings, so the dispensary was implied and never shown. In our outside analysis their online sales rose 12 percent, in-store sales rose 8 percent, and new online checkouts rose 40 percent, all inside the rules that should have stopped them cold.
The other path is experiential, and STIIIZY is the campaign we point to. They turned dispensary openings into lifestyle block parties with merch drops, food, and music, then activated creators and local photographers to capture the crowd energy. More than a thousand customers lined up at a single opening, and the brand grew past 1.5 billion dollars. We did not run that program, we studied it, and the takeaway is plain. When you cannot pay for reach, you build a reason for people to show up and post for you. That is the program we help dispensaries put together.
Cannabis Dispensary proof
See real campaigns in this space and what they produced.
You won't have to fill out a form, wait two days, and then receive a generic slide deck. Instead here is how we work:
- 01
You start by booking a call with us
You book a call with us and 12 other agencies.
- 02
We send you everything before we talk
You get all the info before the call. If something looks off, please cancel. We don't waste your time and you don't waste ours.
- 03
On the call we cover three things
What do you want? Can we deliver it? If not, we refer you to one of our 24+ agency partners who can.
Not ready to talk to us?
Next issue, every Monday
We found the best performing creators for Jun 29 → Jul 5.Hand-picked, not the same five names.
Plus the Influencer Advisory Consultant GPT.
FAQ / 005
Common Cannabis Dispensary questions
Not with paid ads. Meta, Google, and TikTok all block cannabis ad accounts, and they reject or shut down dispensary pages that try. You can keep an organic profile, but the moment you want paid reach, that door is closed. This is why creators and events matter so much for dispensaries, since a person sharing your store is not the same as a banned ad.
Cannabis Dispensary playbooks + guides
Know the rules of this category.
Plain guides on what to say, what to skip, what gets pulled, and what passes.
Meet the team
