Tupper Pot: Women Sharing Cannabis Experiences in the Style of Tupper Sex Parties

A group of young and not so young women meet at a group member’s flat. There is an air of expectancy as they await the arrival of someone who will provide guidance and reveal a whole new world of cannabis pleasures to them. They are going to find out about new products on the market, learn how to use them, play around, laugh and have a good time. There are people who do this to celebrate their bachelorette party, on their birthday or on New Year’s Eve. The important thing is to let your hair down and live for the moment.

We all know that there are women who meet to find out first-hand about the very latest items available in the sex market, with the help of a personal advisor. So why not share more experiences, this time with cannabis (but also between women) just like they do at Tupper sex parties?

This is what Amanda Conley, a business woman working in the cannabis industry, must have thought as she began to promote parties dedicated to cannabis and women. She has hosted these meetings from an apartment in Russian Hill in San Francisco with the help of Shabnamm Malek, Chelsey McKrill and Isamarie Pérez. All of the women are interested in the marijuana world and met during a meeting of the women’s network of the cannabis business Women Grow. 

At the meetings, you can find about twenty women showing their own products, rubbing their hands with a cream made from marijuana, talking about the properties of a cannabis infusion (and gluten free!), and meanwhile, Conley’s mother talks to a various twenty something women about a social network for cannabis users. In addition, they might well talk about exquisite stews made with hemp seeds, or about the effects that a cannabis based lubricant can have on a women’s sexual experiences (it went on sale a few months ago in Colorado).

The group is formed of lawyers, chefs, nurses, business women, and even executives of technology companies. They are all cannabis lovers, and while they share experiences, they inhale the best marijuana varieties with the help of a vaporiser. Afterwards, they burst into laughter when one of the group members talks with total conviction about the marvellous aphrodisiacal properties of new strains that they members advised to smoke with their partners.

However; aside from talking about products and the latest novelties on the market, conversation also becomes political. That is no surprise: next year Californians will vote on whether they want to legalize cannabis (or not). The time has come for women to also debate, reach agreements and express opinions about this sector. During Conley’s meeting, they express their discontent at having to remain in silence about this issue. Therefore; they now want to help themselves as well as other women to take power within the cannabis industry. 

They are perfectly clear about the situation: they have always been pushed into the background in an industry dominated by men and it is now time to end this exclusion. They do not intend to miss out at all of a market that will generate over 2.4 billion euros over the next few years.

Karyn Wagner is part of the Californian collective that have created Sexxpot, a variety that has been devised to increase female sexual desire. During a women’s meeting she talked about how lots of men laugh at her when she suggests they should buy seeds that have the slogan “this is the pot that she really wants”. Why not take into consideration what women want? 

"The fact of the matter is that the majority of people who purchase from dispensaries are men” says Wagner who affirms that she is used to hearing that there is not enough market demand for this product. “How do they know?” she asks herself. Prem Vasudev works at Oaksterdam University, a school where young people train for careers in the marijuana business, and states that “Classes used to be male-dominated but now they are about 50-50%". 

Wagner is not the only one to have heard this type of criticism from male buyers. Ramona Rubin is the owner of Doc Green´s Healing Collective, a producer that sells products made using cannabis substrates (especially creams), based in Berkeley. She says that many women get in touch with her because they need something that fulfils their needs and that really does have positive effects, “however other people rarely listen to that need”.

Malek affirms that, from the moment they had the idea of organising this type of activity, they knew that they would face great challenges: "There is a lot to overcome given the roles we play in society and at home”. For example, one of the women visited a dispensary in order to buy a specific variety that could help to alleviate menopause symptoms. The face of the male seller was a real picture. In the end, she was attended to by a female worker. 

Conley was inspired by those types of stories to create a group where women could connect on a personal level, but also talk about professional and health issues, and always with cannabis as the main focal point.

Troy Dayton, an important business man in the cannabis sector, has listened to their demands. During an event held at the beginning of the year (that was attended by investors interested in the cannabis market), he encouraged those present to build a new type of industry that would begin by ensuring that women were 100% involved in it. He stated that "women should feel welcome and be treated like anyone else”.

At the moment, women attending the meetings call themselves “synchronicity sisters” to show how they are all connected. Their demands seem to be clear and should be taken into account from now onwards: the cannabis world is not just for men and therefore it must meet the needs of women too. Words such as vagina, breasts, period, and menopause must go hand in hand with strains, dispensaries and large investments that will lead to an increasingly large cannabis industry.