What is “Good Weed” For Women?

Ellen Scanlon (00:00):

This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over.

Nicole Graf (00:06):

At the end of the day, what good weed is for you is going to differ from what good weed is for me. What’s good for those high-time stoner bros who have declared that weed to be the chronic, the fire, the dopest shit around, it’s not my chronic, bro. I like something that has less of a THC effect, something that’s more mind windy, get lost in a creative process, or that’s really social and chatty is more fun to me than just checking out and going away.

Ellen Scanlon (00:44):

Welcome to How To Do The Pot, a podcast demystifying cannabis for women. I’m Ellen Scanlon. You just heard from Nicole Graf, who shared how she defines good weed. Nicole is the Washington State-based co-owner of the organic farm Raven, and one of the authors of a great book about cannabis called Grow Your Own. When I think about good weed, I have to confess, like Nicole, I picture a bunch of dudes on a couch in a smokey room. And it makes me a little sad that I still go to that memory, even as I know that cannabis is something that all kinds of people love and consume. And as the host of a show trying to help women feel more confident about cannabis, I really want to help update that image.

Ellen Scanlon (01:46):

Lately, good weed for me has meant that it is consistent and helps me to lower stress. I’ve been paying more attention to where I am in my cycle because it’s hard to believe, but for women, how high you feel can vary by up to 30%, depending on the time of the month, another reason that weed is a lot more complicated than drinking alcohol. Weed will feel more potent the closer you get to your period. So you will feel more high from the exact same weed. We have a chart about cannabis and your menstrual cycle on our website, and I’ll link to it in the show notes. Knowing this has helped me enjoy cannabis so much more because I can really dial in how I want to feel, which is a huge part of what makes weed good for me.

Ellen Scanlon (02:48):

Which leads me to today’s show and the beginning of our new series where we answer the question, what is good weed for women? In this new series, I’ll have a lot more to say about good weed, all new episodes to help you find the perfect strains to match how you want to feel. On each episode, we’ll give you two essential strains and tell you all about how to get the most out of your new stash. We will hear from so many women in this series, and we’re really excited because many of our listeners have sent in voice notes. Thank you, and we always love to hear from you. Today, in the first episode of this series, we’ll take on the abstract concept of good weed. What does that actually mean? I asked some of our favorite women founders in the cannabis industry to help us out. Imelda Walavalkar, the co-founder of California-based Pure Beauty, shares what good weed means to her.

Imelda Walavalkar (04:05):

It’s the same thing as saying, what makes good wine or produce or a good dish? There’s so many components that go into it, some of which are more complex. So for me, I think it’s the perfect storm of many things, like the composition of the flower, the nose, the trichomes, the flavor when you inhale it, how smooth it feels, and then ultimately just how it makes you feel. Is it a good balanced high? Art and cannabis are really overlapping on that Venn diagram. Many people see cannabis as a vehicle for creativity. And both things, I think, give you a profound perspective shift that helps take you out of the present moment and makes you feel things you’ve never felt before and ultimately understand life in new ways. So that’s what all good art does, from music to film, to books, to comedy. So we want our weed to make you feel the way good art makes you feel.

Ellen Scanlon (05:02):

Maggie Connors is the founder of Besito and currently the chief brand officer at Ascend Wellness Holdings. She shares how her relationship to good weed has changed over time.

Maggie Connors (05:17):

I was reflected recently on how I’ve had the privilege to become more of a weed snob living in the rec market, but also certainly working in the industry. But I definitely still carry my scrappy initial relationship to weed 15 years ago, when you’d find the tiniest nug in my rain jacket a year later, and it was the best thing to happen all week. And I’d call my friend and we’d go smoke it. I still do feel that precious about it. And I can certainly identify good weed as far as if you’re measuring good on yield and bud structure and trichomes and an indoor grow where it’s maximized for all of those things and potency, too. And I love that and nothing smells better than that version of good weed. But at the same time, I love all the weed. Still, I don’t turn any away. And my old weed, I make sure it gets used. So I haven’t become too much of a weed snob, actually.

Ellen Scanlon (06:28):

Nicole Graf deeply understands the role of farming practices in creating good weed, but also believes it’s more than just good plants.

Nicole Graf (06:39):

A lot of times, what we used to associate with good weed is based on bud structure, based on density, based on how resinous your buds were, based on what it smelled like when you opened the jar. But those things don’t necessarily connote the experience you want. But an interesting thing is smell is a really good indicator person to person of what makes good weed. Because if you open a jar of what someone tells you is their favorite weed and you’re like, “I do not like the smell of that at all,” that’s probably not great weed for your body chemistry.

Nicole Graf (07:09):

Still, try it. It’s still a fun experiment to see if your experience matches up with your first smell of it. But by and large, something we’ve found that feels very earth medicine, holistically minded is if your body reacts strongly with attraction when you smell a joint, opening a jar, that’s usually a good sign that there’s something in that substance that is jiving with your body chemistry. And you should try it and see what happens. If it makes you feel good, it’s good weed. If it is something you find yourself coming back to or missing the experience of and wanting to recreate that, that’s good weed for you.

Ellen Scanlon (08:00):

With so many podcasts to choose from, finding a favorite series can take some trial and error. We started How To Do The Pot’s Podcast Club because, well, we love podcasts. And when we find a good one, we want you to enjoy it as well. If you’d like to put a podcast on our radar, whether it’s about weed or not, please reach out at hi@dothepot.com or you can DM us at @dothepot. Have you heard about a podcast called Lizzy Cooperman’s In Your Hands? Each week, Lizzy’s listeners, who are called sorcerers, listen to the show, and then vote on what she does next with her life. And she actually does what they voted for. It all plays out in real time. So if you listen, you’ll be pretty much deciding her destiny.

Ellen Scanlon (08:55):

Should she sell her car, become a professional tarot reader, pursue a man she met at a mixer that you voted for her to attend? Every episode, she offers two options, then listeners vote in her Instagram Stories. When she gets the results, she follows through on whatever they voted for, no matter what. She also brings on very funny comedians and experts to help make the decision. Her life is truly in your hands. I laughed out loud so many times during an episode called 5AM / 50 Men, when to find a sleep expert, Lizzy calls a mattress store and gets some pretty good tips. So please do yourself a favor and listen to Lizzy Cooperman’s In Your Hands wherever you get your podcast.

Ellen Scanlon (09:55):

Here’s a little teaser of the episodes coming up in our What is Good Weed? series. On next week’s show, we ask, what is good relaxing weed? If at the end of the day, you find that your mind is still racing, if you’re dealing with a lot of stress or pressure in your life, if you feel like your body just needs a break, or if you have a hard time getting in the mood to fall asleep, a relaxing strain could add some much needed calm to your day or night. Are you feeling ready to really incorporate cannabis into your wellbeing, mind and body? We’ll answer the question, what is good, balanced weed? Kelly, a Do The Pot follower on Instagram, shares what she loves about it.

Kelly (10:50):

I love using balanced strains because that’s exactly how they make me feel. I’m not melted into the couch or super sleepy, or my mind isn’t going a million miles a minute. The balanced strains just put me in a really nice head space. I feel really relaxed, but ready to do something.

Ellen Scanlon (11:06):

Or maybe you want strains for feeling fun, happy and uplifted. We know just what to recommend for good, energizing weed. Marley Fair, our friend and researcher, weed research, it’s a job, at How To Do The Pot tells us why she loves energizing strains.

Marley Fair (11:27):

Whether you’re hanging out with old friends or meeting new people, it makes me feel talkative and bubbly, giggly, like I can just be myself. The little bit of energy boost that it gives you is awesome.

Ellen Scanlon (11:43):

Do you know the history of good weed? Strains are a really fun part of learning about cannabis, especially the secret history. Since cannabis has been in the shadows for so many years, you can bet there are some really great stories. We’ll dig into what are called landrace strains, the original cannabis strains that existed on the Earth, and talk about how they went from something only a special few knew about to worldwide fame today. What does good weed mean to you? Please let us know. You can reach out at hi@dothepot.com or DM us at @dothepot. And stay tuned for the next episode in our series, What is Good Weed? For lots more information and past episodes, visit dothepot.com, and that’s also where you can sign up for our newsletter. And if you like How To Do The Pot, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people find the show. Thank you to our producers, Madi Fair and Nick Patri. I’m Ellen Scanlon, and stay tuned for more of How To Do The Pot.