The New ‘Stoner Girl’
Here are the women of weed working hard to cast off an age old stereotype
When you hear the phrase ‘women and weed’, chances are there is a NSFW High Times centerfold image that pops in your head or perhaps Nancy Botwin. The ‘Stoner Girl’ is an age old stereotype that has plagued women entering the legal cannabis industry. Often over sexualized and depicted as ‘bad girls’, The Stoner Girl is a trope of cannabis culture that feels outdated yet is employed now more than ever before thanks to widespread legalization. Searching #Stonergirls on Instagram, the stereotype reinforces itself as I scroll past a post of a girl’s butt being used as a rolling tray, a group of scantily clad 20 somethings called the ‘420 Nurses’ who’s sole hobby is showing up to cannabis events donning nurse uniforms, and budtenders employing ample cleavage to sell product. Given the hypersexualized imagery of women and weed, its not a surprise as to why women in cannabis have a harder time being taken seriously. But as the smoke clears and stereotypes fall to the wayside, 2017 shows us a new crop of women ready to redefine what cannabis means to them and how it empowers and impacts their lives. The new women in weed are CEOS, moms and artists, often all juggling all three labels at once. Here are a few power players changing the landscape of the cannabis industry.
Olivia Alexander: Founder of 3rd Eye Agency & CEO of Kush Queens
Olivia Alexander’s accolades span from owning some of the biggest Instagram channels dedicated to cannabis including @Weed.bae (350K followers before it was deleted by Instagram) to winning a High Times award for her own edible/topical #thelitkit, to running her own YouTube channel dedicated to cannabis cuture @buddfeed, creating The Cannabis Shopping Network and running her successful lifestyle brand @kushqueens. Olivia’s prolific talent as a content creator and tastemaker within the cannabis industry have yielded her tremendous success, all at the age of 30. Her path is proof that enjoying cannabis doesn’t get in the way of success, it fuels it.
April Pride: CEO of Van der Pop
April Pride brought to life the luxury cannabis lifestyle brand we all dreamed of, VanderPop. Specifically made for women, VanderPop employs a rich plethora of luxe materials and packaging to take your smoking (or vaping) experience to new highs. Countering the prevalent ‘Bro Culture’ of headshop smoking accessories, Vanderpop crafts elegant products that speak luxury and familiarity to women who are more comfortable in a PTA meeting rather than a pot shop. Some of their products include their new line of luxe cannabis skincare featuring CBD enriched body creams and serums, Italian leather stash bags and chic strain jars labeled Sex, Party and Relax. Vanderpop also recently announced a partnership with WeedMD to bring their own cannabis strains to Canada 🇨🇦! Founder April Pride is a mom of 2 and throws monthly salon style ‘SESSION’ parties in Portland, LA, San Fransisco, and her native Seattle. Find a SESSION near you by checking out their site here.
Morgan English- Founder of @ThisCannabisLife
Morgan English is a unique hybrid of photographer, blogger and entrepreneur who created @ThisCannabisLife to redefine how cannabis is viewed and take an active stance against ending the stigma against cannabis patients. Her blog and imagery portray people celebrating life and love while using cannabis as part of an active healthy lifestyle. Morgan created her blog and instagram feed as a platform to educate and inform her fans on wellness and lifestyle trends within the cannabis industry. TCL creates influential content along with her network of fellow cannabis influencers, artists and entreprenurs that are vital in pushing the future of cannabis forward. Morgan has recently become one half of FEZ vaporizer and infused her own unique design aesthetic into the world of cannabis tech.
Allie Beckett- Ganjapreneur & Photographer
Allie Beckett is the photographer turned Ganjapreneur responsible for all of those exquisite macro images of cannabis you see on Weedmaps, Leafly, Marijuana.com, Hightimes and her Instagram feed, @Canna.obscura. A former cannabis farmer herself, Allie showcases the cannabis plant in all of its glory, capturing the process of farming, processing and more recently, commercialization. Her work is the foundation of the new book Branding Bud, which she co-produced with marketing expert David Paleschuck. Branding Bud documents how the first legal cannabis brands set out to transform a once taboo plant into a consumer good. Allie’s other achievements are nothing less than incredible, being co-founder of the PNW based organic cannabis brand, TKO-Reserve. TKO boasts a sustainable approach to cannabis, putting patients needs first and giving back to the land with their products being DEM Pure Certified, which forbids the use of synthetic ingredients and pesticides, utilizes closed loop farming practices and bans hydroponic growing.
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xo-FEZ
