Clear Choice Cannabis Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged ‘Text Blasting’

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

The operators of Clear Choice Cannabis are on the receiving end of a proposed class action that claims the dispensary has sent spam text messages to consumers who never consented to receive them.

The practice, described in the 21-page lawsuit as “junk texting” or “text blasting,” violates Washington state consumer protection laws, according to the case out of Pierce County Superior Court.

Clear Choice, which operates chiefly out of Tacoma and Bremerton, Washington, with other offices in Seattle, runs a loyalty program through which former, current and potential recreational cannabis customers are offered various discounts and incentives, the suit says. The lawsuit alleges the defendants collected customers’ cell phone numbers during transactions at their retail locations, through their website and from third-party sources in order to send advertisements and promotions via text message.

Per the complaint, however, Clear Choice failed to obtain proposed class members’ clear and affirmative consent to receive promotional text messages before unleashing a potentially unwanted barrage of advertising centered on the dispensary’s cannabis products and services.

Consumers whose numbers were collected by the defendants all received the same telemarketing messages regardless of which location they visited, the suit says. According to the case, the defendants addressed the texts to a general audience, “with no personalized salutation or acknowledgement of Plaintiff or any other person’s individual identity.”

The plaintiff, a Washington consumer, says he visited a Clear Choice Cannabis location in Tacoma in June 2020 and verbally provided his cell phone number to a store employee. Per the case, the plaintiff, upon providing his cell phone number, was not advised verbally or in writing that he would receive commercial text messages from the defendants, nor did he affirmatively consent to receive the communications.

Following the plaintiff’s visit, he was “almost immediately” targeted with unsolicited text messages promoting the sale and distribution of Clear Choice’s recreational cannabis, the suit says.

The plaintiff says he has received from Clear Choice Cannabis at least nine text messages, including the following text sent on June 26, despite never providing consent to receive them:

“20% OFF ONE PURCHASE [] just tell us, ‘I want the deal!’”

The lawsuit claims the text messages were sent en masse to at least hundreds of consumers, who suffered harm in the form of invasion of privacy, intrusion upon and occupation of their cell phones’ capacity and storage space, and wasted time and attention in tending to the messages.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s newsletter here.