Why More Women Are Choosing Cannabis—and What It Means for What’s Next

290. The Real Reasons Women Are Turning to Cannabis

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[00:00:42] Nicole Brown: Welcome to the party ladies.

[00:00:46] Ellen Scanlon: Welcome to How To Do the Pot, the award-winning podcast, redefining cannabis for women’s lives. Today. I’m your host, Ellen Scanlon.

[00:00:56] You just heard from Nicole Brown, a New York based [00:01:00] innovation and strategy expert. Nicole was a guest on last week’s show too. If you missed it, we shared our favorite cannabis products for less stress, more socializing, and just slowing down. It’s a fun episode, especially if you’re looking for something new to try.

[00:01:16] This week we are diving into a headline that might surprise you For the first time ever more US women are consuming cannabis than men. Yes, really Nicole and I have been watching this shift unfold in real time. Today we’re gonna talk about why it’s happening and what it means. The reasons that more women are choosing cannabis are about a lot more than just getting high.

[00:01:43] In today’s episode, we’ll cover why sleep is the gateway into cannabis for so many women. How the cultural narrative around weed is evolving and why younger women are reaching for cannabis instead of alcohol. Before we get into the episode, I wanna take [00:02:00] a quick minute to say thank you. If you’ve been listening to How to Do the Pot and it’s helped you feel more confident or a little more at ease, I’m really glad you’re here.

[00:02:09] I put a lot of care into each episode, and if you’re enjoying the show, there is a simple way to support it. You can subscribe to my newsletter on substack. When the show started back in 2019, most cannabis content didn’t speak to women’s lives. Now more women are choosing cannabis, and I’m here to make sure you have the knowledge and confidence to make it work for your life.

[00:02:35] A monthly subscription to my Substack is $6 a month, and it really helps me keep this work going. So if you’ve thought, oh, I’ve been meaning to subscribe, now is a great time. Head to do the pot.com or directly to Substack. Thank you for your support. Now on to today’s show. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nicole Brown.[00:03:00]

[00:03:10] You and I have been seeing the same press that women are consuming more cannabis than men, especially younger women, but really in these new ways, all these headlines are like, this has never happened before. You know what is going on? And I thought it would be really fun for us to talk through it in part because I think that.

[00:03:29] The culture is changing. Mm-hmm. The way that access is changing has kind of changed the game for a lot of people. So what do you think, is there a reason that feels clear to you that now is the time that women are consuming more cannabis than men?

[00:03:44] Nicole Brown: Well, it’s like, welcome to the party ladies. You know, this is the time.

[00:03:48] So I think a couple factors. Number one, the benefits and the solutions that cannabis can provide. Really speak to women, whether it’s women’s health issues like [00:04:00] endometriosis or having just really difficult periods and cramps, or looking for general support with sleep anxiety, like the whole. Gamut of reasons that I think women have started to recognize that cannabis is a solution.

[00:04:16] So it’s like that number one, the awareness is there. Then number two, de-stigmatizing the category and no, this isn’t because it has like a pink package or whatever. It’s like, no, this is a product that has the right type of dosage, typically meaning a lower dosage. So it can like let you start low and then kind of.

[00:04:34] Find your right dose. And I think for all those reasons it’s allowed, certainly me for quite some time, but now more and more women that I know, and obviously now all the data is showing that it’s the majority of the category is now women consumers, especially amongst younger consumers. That’s really where there’s just, I think so much.

[00:04:55] Opportunity and excitement is the fact that there are these very [00:05:00] differentiated products, whether it’s low dose beverages, is a huge entry point for a lot of women. Some of these more discreet and acute options of like, Hey, I really need a good night’s sleep and melatonin’s really haven’t forming. I don’t wanna do that anymore.

[00:05:14] Or, Ugh, you know, I’m having some situational anxiety. You know, as much as like, you know, Parker Posey talks about Lorazepam. Like, I’d like to have something that’s a little bit softer and less habit forming. Where do you see it? What is your, uh, take on this?

[00:05:28] Ellen Scanlon: I think that the gateway into cannabis is sleep for most women, right?

[00:05:33] As women are trying cannabis for sleep because not sleeping is such, it has such a waterfall of negative effects that if you can’t sleep, I think you are willing to try anything. And then as more women kind of talk to each other and say. Oh, this is what’s helping me. I joke about this, but people will say like, they find out I’m a cannabis advocate and they’ll say, oh, I don’t like weed.

[00:05:54] I do take a gummy to sleep every night, and it really works. Yep. So I think that there’s been enough people who’ve been [00:06:00] saying that for a while, that it started to sort of sink in. What do they say in marketing? You have to hear something three times before you sort of process it. This 10 years of cannabis legalization is kind of starting to hit.

[00:06:12] So I think sleep was a way in for a lot of women. And then once you’ve tried cannabis for sleep and you’ve done the work to kind of figure out how long do I need to take this edible before I go to bed? Or, you know, kind of just the timing of it. I think people get more comfortable with it. So my theory is that that sleep has been the gateway in.

[00:06:31] Mm-hmm. And then as access has opened up, then women who are curious have a lot more options.

[00:06:39] Nicole Brown: I agree. And I think also I. Sex. I discovered this, it was in Las Vegas for like a friend’s birthday party last year. A bunch of fabulous women in our forties, you know, sitting around drinking and chatting, and it was like the unlock, you know, after a few glasses of champagne, by the way.

[00:06:57] Like have you guys tried taking like a half a [00:07:00] gummy and then having sex? It’s like. Real good. So I also say like where it’s like people are like coming for the sleep and they’re staying for the sex, right? Because there is that lag time too, of like all of a sudden you took your gummy, you’re in bed, and then you’re just like, hmm.

[00:07:13] Wait a second before I go to sleep. I kind of feel pretty relaxed right now, and it shuts your mind off. It just does all the right things, both mentally and physically. That I think also was like a delightful added benefit that then it was like, oh, this is better than having. That glass or two of wine and then deciding to like have a fun night with my husband or my boyfriend.

[00:07:38] It just was like a total moment there. So I think that’s another one that’s a, a fun one that I think more and more women are becoming aware of and it’s, it’s great. I agree.

[00:07:48] Ellen Scanlon: Yeah, that is a great add-on. And I think that the sleep to sex is a fun connection because you’re, you’re in a place where hopefully you’re comfortable.

[00:07:57] Yes. And I think that for a lot of [00:08:00] women, whatever the programming around cannabis was, whatever the fears around cannabis. If there is a place where you can try it and feel comfortable, it’s buying it legally and trying it in your home, in your bedroom. Mm-hmm. And I think that all those little things like the path to getting it, the path to bringing it into your life, all of that has just gotten a lot more.

[00:08:23] Comfortable. You know, if I think back to smoking weed when I was in college, it was definitely illegal. I knew I would get in trouble. You know, there was like an element of me thinking like, this is making me feel better and it’s something that I enjoy, but it has all these really negative consequences if I get caught.

[00:08:42] And so that’s just programming for me. Mm-hmm. And I’ve lived in a legal state for long enough that I don’t have that programming, but so many people do. And. That does not promote relaxation, that does not promote good sleep, that does not promote good sex when you’re feeling really anxious. For me, I think that cannabis being [00:09:00] legal, cannabis being accessible are two things that also add to the whole vibe of the plant.

[00:09:07] And one of the things that we’ve talked about is how cannabis, in some ways I think about it, we’ve talked about this like an Advil or like a Tylenol, and if you have a headache. And you take a Tylenol, you know that it’s going to help your headache, but if also like your knee is hurting, your knee will start feeling better too because it’s just helping with pain.

[00:09:26] Cannabis has the same kind of effects where it can help the areas where you are feeling like you need extra support. This goes back to the endocannabinoid system. So I think that mind body connection is so strong and as women get less a. Afraid of the legal consequences. It is much easier to relax and then enjoy the.

[00:09:47] Physical, emotional mind body benefits that cannabis can bring. And I think the

[00:09:52] Nicole Brown: fact that there has been increased awareness, acceptance, access, there’s just more [00:10:00] dispensaries. You know, like I’ve watched the evolution in New York right now, go from it being a real challenge and a real struggle to now having some actually.

[00:10:07] Free, excellent dispensaries here. Travel agency is awesome. Gotham is awesome. They’re like, they’re right in Manhattan. I mean, it’s like, you know, this was the dream. You know, you talking about college, it definitely brings me back too of like, I remember like smoking weed in college, dreaming. Like it was just a alternate reality.

[00:10:25] Oh my God, what if there was a world in which, you know, weed was legally, you could just go buy it somewhere. And like we are living in that reality now and it’s crazy. You know, the other thing that. You know, I was reflecting on looking at all this recent data coming out on the female consumer and how more women than men, especially in the that 19 to 30 category, that Gen Z or very young millennials are consuming more, and why that is, I.

[00:10:51] From a cultural perspective, that got me thinking again, kind of like then and now. Okay. Like, you know, when I was in college right? You had Pineapple Express and [00:11:00] dude wears my car and Harold Kuer go to White Castle. How high with Method Man, which came out while I was at Harvard was like, that was like a real moment of glory.

[00:11:08] And those are, you know, a certain. Archetype of most of the time a guy who smokes weed, right? And like that was the persona versus now you have, you know, Rihanna smoking a blunt on a yacht, right? One of the most powerful, successful, you know, artists and businesswomen. You’ve got Chelsea Handler as an advocate, you know, talking openly about.

[00:11:30] Her three favorite things, right? It’s like, you know, reading books, skiing and smoking weed and typically like in the same day. And then Gabby, Wendy, who’s like a, an advocate who I’ve fallen in love with recently, who is on the Bachelor, very famously tried to leave, was like self eliminating, begged to stay.

[00:11:46] Then when she like stays and he votes her off, I mean, she tells him off. I love her. I’m a huge Gabby fan. And then she came out as. And now has a fabulous podcast and also is a weed advocate and just got, you know, [00:12:00] tapped as an ambassador for eie Parker. So I think now if you’re a woman coming of age, you are seeing these examples of women who are.

[00:12:09] Great advocates for weed and consumption of it in all different ways and types, whether it’s low dose smoking beverages, and the women are also positioning it, I think, differently. It’s that kind of work hard, play hard. It’s like, Hey, I’m a total badass. I am killing it at work. I’m killing it at what I do, and then when I wanna chill, this is how I chill.

[00:12:30] I think that’s a totally different. Persona and archetype than Seth Rogan and Pineapple Express. And I also love Seth Rogan. No, no judgment. But like it’s so different, right? And I think that has to be playing a part. What do you think?

[00:12:44] Ellen Scanlon: I think it’s so cool. I mean, the work hard, play hard, I think has been so connected to alcohol for so long, right?

[00:12:52] And. As we learn more and more and we experience more and more the negative effects of alcohol, the thing that [00:13:00] stands out to me, I remember talking to Vivian Azer, a former Wall Street analyst about this and about why she decided to take coverage of the cannabis, uh, publicly traded stocks because she was seeing these alcohol trends.

[00:13:13] And from her perspective, it was like, if you’re a young person and you are gonna. Drink too much and then somebody puts that on video and they put that on the internet that lives there forever. That was just not a thing when I was coming up and drinking alcohol and going out and doing things, that was just not a thing.

[00:13:31] Like maybe people had cameras, but that was about it. And so like disposable camera, I mean, thank God, Polaroids, maybe. Yeah, that’s it. Right. And so I think that that to me is, is just such a huge change in how people socialize and thinking about the consequences of your socializing while you’re doing it.

[00:13:51] And for most people, I would say, if you have too much weed, you’re probably gonna go home and go to sleep. Versus if you have too much. Alcohol, [00:14:00] anything can happen. I just feel like the young, cool, empowered woman right now has choices, and one of those choices is cannabis. And you can smoke it, you can eat it, you can drink it, you can figure out what works best for you, and you can also.

[00:14:16] Have fun with it and get to know how it makes you feel and choose to bring it in certain situations where it’s a great match and go back to your NA or your alcohol in other places. And so the options have gotten so much bigger. I mean, I worked on Wall Street when I was coming outta school in my twenties.

[00:14:34] I was going out all the time. I was waking up super early. I had to be in the office at five o’clock in the morning and I really couldn’t. Drink. I could go out with my friends ’cause I had the energy, but I just couldn’t drink a lot because I had to wake up at four o’clock in the morning. And so I got really used to going out and socializing and not drinking.

[00:14:52] That’s not the way most of the people that I was with were experiencing it. But if I could have taken like one of my favorite 20 to one wild [00:15:00] gummies. That would’ve been so amazing because I would’ve felt a little bit more relaxed. I would know that I could still wake up. I would know that all of those, you know, morning meetings would’ve gone really well and that was not an option.

[00:15:13] And I think it’s just so awesome that it is now, because I think it creates more opportunity for more people to feel relaxed in a way that works for them and do that socially. Yeah.

[00:15:25] Nicole Brown: Thinking about just how many options there are nowadays, which is so terrific for women of course, but for everyone, you have all these choices that we didn’t have as available or as openly available, or to your point earlier, the legality of it where it’s like, okay, like you don’t have to like worry about any of that anymore.

[00:15:44] And now you can literally just make an informed choice out in the open of, of what that’s gonna look like. It creates, I think, such a great opportunity. It’s awesome.

[00:15:56] Ellen Scanlon: I mean, the reasons that men and women come to [00:16:00] cannabis have shown to be different, and I think we’re figuring out what they are. I think in general, women come sort of through medical reasons and trying to solve for.

[00:16:11] Problems. And I think this goes into this huge category of kind of alternative wellbeing and wellness and women trying all kinds of things because they’re not getting the care or they’re not getting the support that they need from traditional physicians. And so I think that’s a whole nother category.

[00:16:26] I would say that’s probably more where I fit. I have endometriosis. CBD has helped me so much with pain that I started using it more because I also really like it for helping with stress and anxiety. And that’s when I kind of discovered that a little bit of THC with the CBD makes it work even better and even faster.

[00:16:46] So I think that however you get to this journey of cannabis, you can find what you’re looking for because there are just a lot more. Options. Which, yeah, I mean, think back to both of us, like in our [00:17:00] dorm rooms, you know, like this is, it’s kind of an amazing situation. I mean, I live in San Francisco. I’ve had it for a while, but tell me more about New York.

[00:17:10] I mean, I’ve been to some of those dispensaries when they first opened and it was cool, but it definitely still seemed like a lot of people didn’t know about it, or there were sort of people walking by with like a little bit of a side eye. How’s it,

[00:17:21] Nicole Brown: how’s it feel now? It’s been a remarkable transformation.

[00:17:24] And there was. A lot of excitement or enthusiasm over, you know, what the New York had the potential to be, but so much red tape in the application process. Like, and this is like boring stuff that we won’t get into, but like, it was like it was legal, which actually just when it was like, Hey, we’re gonna have a recreational marijuana program in the state of New York.

[00:17:44] New York went from like, New York was already at like a pretty, you know, friendly place. Like you’d be walking through Washington Square Park and you smell a lot of weed. That just went through the roof like pretty fast. You know, it’s post COVID. So all of a sudden it just kind of gave everyone the green light to just like, you know, walking by.

[00:17:59] People are just [00:18:00] openly rolling blunts on the bench in the park. I mean, it was just kind of like a freedom that was given because it was decriminalized, right? And the stores weren’t opening, so you kind of had this like delay for like several years where like nothing. Was really happening. And then you had the rise of all of the illicit stores.

[00:18:20] Stores that were pretending to be dispensaries. Some of them might be selling hemp drive, Delta nine, Delta eight products, counterfeit products from California, which like literally had the California stickers on them. Like you knew that it was not a New York product that was like prolific. I mean, every bodega.

[00:18:36] Every corner was like openly selling products, and I was actually really surprised at how quickly New York invested in flipping that around. All of those. Illicit non-licensed dispensaries were shut down. And at the same time, New York kind of removed some of those barriers in red tape. So now you have a pretty, I would say, decent penetration of [00:19:00] stores throughout New York, throughout Manhattan.

[00:19:03] And you’re also starting to see they’ve also created a lot more. Ease in the supply chain of like, actually, like you would go into some of the stories. Housing Works was one of the first ones, right? I remember when it opened, I was there. I mean the shelves were bare, so it was like, great, there’s a store here, but it was like nothing.

[00:19:20] And now you actually have seen it come to fruition where it’s like, okay, you can go to stories here. I mean, you, you still live in the land of Plenty in California. When I go to California, I am still a kid in a candy store. I still wanna go to every store. You still have the best brands, but. New York is starting to, I think, find its footing and I’m enjoying trying a lot of the new products here.

[00:19:42] There’s actually some like great cultivators in the state of New York, so the flower is actually really impressive. There’s actually a fabulous female run farm, the Hepworth farm, if you’ve heard of it, I’ve read about their story. These women are fabulous that run this farm, that that creates some of the best flower in New [00:20:00] York state.

[00:20:00] So it’s been exciting. It’s like if you’re a wine person, right? Yes. There’s certain terroirs like France or Italy that make great wine. I think the West Coast is still gonna make some of the best. Flour and, and the best marijuana. But I do think there’s still gonna be an appreciation for some of these new places.

[00:20:17] And I think New York is one of them. I’m very, I’m very proud of the program here. It’s cool when you come visit, next time we go, we’ll go out and like do a little, uh, roundup together. I know you’ve seen them all, but we to like go and shop together.

[00:20:29] Ellen Scanlon: Yeah, I mean I, it was about two years ago I went to Gotham.

[00:20:33] I went to Housing Works and I went to the travel agency and they were all fun. Housing works. Did not have a lot of products, but it felt like a moment in time. You know so much about working in this industry. I feel like there are moments in time, I’ve talked to people who went to Hall of Flowers, the big industry conference 10 years ago, and you know, it was like folding tables and tiny people and now you go and it’s.

[00:20:54] Like a Disneyland kind of situation. And that’s why I really wanted to go to those stores in New York and check them [00:21:00] out because it, it felt like it wasn’t gonna stay like this. These are the early pioneers and, and it was just gonna get bigger and better from there. Glad to hear it has,

[00:21:09] Nicole Brown: it has. I’m

[00:21:10] Ellen Scanlon: excited to get there.

[00:21:11] Nicole Brown: So excited. Yes. You’re encouraging me. I need to go replenish my supplies. So might, I might need to do some shopping.

[00:21:21] Ellen Scanlon: Thank you for listening to How to Do the Pot. For lots more information, visit do the pot.com. And while you’re there, you can sign up for my newsletter or find it on Substack, where I share personal stories, product picks, and behind the scenes thoughts from the show. Thank you to our producer Nick Patri.

[00:21:41] I’m Melon Scanlan and we’ll be back soon with more of how to do the pot.