Squarespace Suspends New York Cannabis Brand’s Online Merch Payments

The New York cannabis brand Silly Nice said Squarespace has suspended all payments for its online merchandise store, despite none of the products containing any cannabis, stupidDOPE reports.

Silly Nice is a state-licensed operator specializing in small-batch, craft cannabis products. The veteran- and Black-owned company’s products frequently sell out, according to its website, and the business owners had relied on the online apparel store as an important source of additional revenue.

Squarespace, a website-building and hosting service utilized by entrepreneurs and small businesses around the world, bases its online payment processor on Stripe, which prohibits cannabis and hemp product sales. But Stripe’s support page on prohibited products suggests that, so long as no prohibited items are on offer, hemp and cannabis brands should be approved to otherwise use the service.

Squarespace did not communicate before or after shutting down the company’s online sales, which were exclusively apparel or accessories and contained zero actual cannabis.

“It’s painful to watch platforms that claim to support small business owners discriminate against us because of what industry we’re in. We followed every rule, every law, every guideline. Our website doesn’t sell cannabis — it sells merch. But because we’re associated with cannabis, we’re being punished. We’ve been victimized by these tech platforms, and it needs to stop.” — LeVar Thomas, Co-Founder of Silly Nice, via stupidDOPE

The incident underscores an ongoing concern for cannabis operators everywhere — that despite state-level reforms now in effect throughout most of the country, industry participants continue to face obstacles unique to the cannabis space, whether due to federal prohibition directly, or the unfortunate stigma associated with it.

Squarespace did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.