Culture Shift

Cannabis is something women grow out of—or, at least, that’s the stereotype. Like a bad-boy boyfriend, it’s fun for a while but, eventually, it’s too unpredictable, and people around you disapprove. It seems more trouble than it’s worth—not compatible with your grownup life—so you dump it. Last October cannabis became legal in Canada. Women were intrigued and excited, but the prospect of legalization did little to remove the fear, or the shame. According to a survey of 1,530 North American women in 2017, 70 per cent still believe that cannabis carries a stigma, and 66 per cent hide their usage.

“I think it’s because women have largely been left out of the cannabis conversation,” says Lauren Pryor, senior brand manager for Van der Pop, the female-focused cannabis brand that conducted the survey. While Van der Pop was originally conceived by founder April Pride as a cannabis accessories brand, it’s evolved beyond that. “Quickly, April realized there was a bigger conversation that needed to happen, that it was necessary to support women in their pursuit of integrating cannabis into their wellness regimen,” Pryor explains. The brand is facilitating the conversation through social media, its website and live events, focusing on demystifying how cannabis can be consumed and what it can do. “We talk about self-care: moments of indulgence, clarity and mental peace, everything from DYI infusions and lubes to bath bombs,” Pryor says.

All of that aligns perfectly with the results of the survey, which indicated most women who used cannabis did so for wellness reasons, including pain relief and reduction in anxiety. There are four legal forms of cannabis here: dried flowers, pre-rolled joints, soft-gel capsules and oils. The way it’s consumed, the varietal of flower and its balance of THC (the psychoactive component) and CBD (the anti-anxiety/ anti-inflammatory one) dictate how high you’ll get and how long you’ll stay that way—something that’s a big concern for many users. Perhaps the best way to get a precise, predictable dose right now is using capsules. But it’s hoped that later this year another means of consumption will hit the market that allows still more control: vaporizing concentrates (which, like edibles and topicals, aren’t yet legal).

“Vaporization is one of the most effective ways to experience the therapeutic benefits of cannabis as, with no combustion, only the active and beneficial ingredients of cannabis are released and these are passed along quickly and effectively into your bloodstream,” says Gunner Winston, CEO of Dosist, the cannabis wellness company that celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow rave about. “Having said that, the challenge has always been how do you ensure you’re not taking too much or too little to achieve the desired therapeutic result? Dose control is imperative to effectively using cannabis as a therapeutic tool, and at Dosist … it’s about delivering a safe and consistent experience to our consumers every time.”

The Dosist difference is in its proprietary, award-winning dose pen, which vaporizes the cannabis compounds in the brand’s formulas and delivers a precise dose with every puff, vibrating when a complete dose has been delivered. “While our formulations are not specifically designed exclusively for women, our data tells us that women are early adopters of it because of three key facts: it is natural, it delivers the intended benefit it addresses and it’s delivered via dose control. So the trust, predictability and dosage are what is really speaking to women,” Winston says.

Both Van der Pop and Dosist are passionate about educating users about the benefits of cannabis and how to get the most from it. The final piece of the puzzle is retail, where Tokyo Smoke is emerging as an important Canadian voice. Currently the brand has four dispensing stores in Manitoba and seven additional shops selling coffee and cannabis accessories, including one in Vancouver. It hopes that non- dispensing stores will eventually be licensed to sell cannabis. Tokyo Smoke did a lot of thinking about how it would position itself. “We were more focused on who was doing retail in an interesting way—an experiential, media-driven manner,” says Lacey Norton, vice-president of retail. She references retailers like Apple and Warby Parker, where, as with cannabis, the product doesn’t live on the shop floor, as well as Glossier, Lululemon and Aesop. All of these have beautiful, gender-neutral décor and are known for the way they train team members to be product educators.

It’s the same at Tokyo Smoke, where customers can have one-on-one consultations with educators or visit the stores’ education bays to do their own research. “Our stores are ultimately designed to lead guests through an intent journey. Before we even look at the type of product, we’re looking at the experience guests want to achieve. That’s probably mind- blowing for some people when they come into stores,” Norton says.

Since legislation is still in flux and the industry is relatively young, it’s hard to say how it will develop. Norton believes some of the issues that are important in beauty and food will also enter cannabis—for example, the move toward organic and clean, and knowing where your product comes from. What everyone is clear about is that there’s no such thing as the typical cannabis consumer. Says Pryor: “It’s a broad array of people, from experts to those starting their journey, and it’s extremely empowering to see so many people interested in being part of these conversations.”

Norton agrees. “Because it’s so versatile from a medicinal and recreational perspective, people will progressively become more open in speaking about it,” she says. “Barneys has announced it’s opening a cannabis lifestyle shop in its Beverly Hills flagship; you can’t get much more conventional than that. It absolutely does integrate with reality. You can be a cannabis user and a productive, happy member of society!” —Aileen Lalor