Have you ever wished you could get in on the ground floor of an explosive-growth industry? This is your once-in-a-lifetime chance: cannabis. In 2020, legal US cannabis sales increased by 67%, and the cannabis market is expected to reach $34 billion by 2025. But your window to get in on the Green Rush is closing fast. Once the US federally decriminalizes marijuana, it’ll be too late to catch up with players who are building market share now.
Here’s our primer for women who want to break into cannabis while the getting is still good.
Women and Weed
Male stoners’ stories abound, and so does the industry marketing that’s targeted at them. But what about women and weed? With House of Puff, we discovered that it’s one of the fastest-growing markets in the country. Now that both Chelsea Handler and Martha Stewart are moving into the cannabis space, you can, too.
Why Is There a Green Rush?
The cannabis industry is having a rare moment; there’s massive consumer demand. Over the past several years, sales have consistently outpaced industry projections. But federal prohibition has kept the industry in a Wild West stage.
That’s changing, though, at a breakneck pace. All 5 cannabis ballot initiatives won big in November 2020 (including in conservative bastions). In just two years of full legalization, California surpassed $1 billion in cannabis tax revenues. With a pandemic-shriveled tax base, state legislatures are taking notice—especially when their neighbors legalize. Even before New Jerseyans voted for adult recreational use in November, Gov. Cuomo was promising to legalize in New York by April 2021.
The cannabis industry is currently akin to the Internet playing field in the early aughts—tons of players with loads of new products.
Last year, the market experienced a correction that weeded out some of the less viable businesses. But with cannabis deemed an essential service, the industry has come roaring back.
Cannabis Industry Inclusivity
Considering marijuana’s counterculture vibe, we expected the cannabis industry to be more inclusive. But the legal market for growth is so highly regulated that it takes huge amounts of capital. Since white men have the most access to capital, they’re still mainly the big players.
I remember my first big cannabis conference. I felt like I was the only woman of color. When I voiced my displeasure about yet another industry with white men at the helm, Kassia Graham of Cannaclusive told me to keep showing up even when I felt uncomfortable, so our voices aren’t overlooked.
Due to its relationship with the inequities of the War on Drugs, the legal cannabis industry includes a unique emphasis on social equity.
State and federal organizations are constantly pushing for systemic opportunities to facilitate more diversity. In comparison to other industries, many cannabis businesses are already committed to creating opportunities for women and BIPOC.
The Cannabis Industry Is More Than Just Growing Weed
If you want to join the Green Rush, look for a niche you can authentically fill.
The cannabis industry is more than just growing weed. Because of federal prohibition, there’s an enormous need for specialized legal, accounting, security, HR, PR, marketing, and loads of other transferable expertise from other industries.
Since the cannabis industry will continue to be highly regulated even after prohibition, those needs will continue to grow.
For us, that niche was beautifully designed cannabis accessories. Like most female cannabis consumers, we started using marijuana as adults to combat serious illnesses. But the medical dispensaries didn’t offer us aesthetically-pleasing accessories for our cannabis. We were left to our own devices to find something to smoke it with and store it in.
Those devices were awful—boring, phallic, watered-down psychedelic, or just plain ugly. Products that made you want to hide them and, by extension, your cannabis consumption, too. We’re both obsessed with art, design, and fashion. We’re also high functioning women who didn’t want to use products that radiated a slacker vibe.
Instead, we make art-inspired cannabis accessories at an accessible luxury price point. Your grandmother could mistake our Le Pipe one-hitter pipe for a lip gloss, and our Nebula Tray is equally at home as a mini rolling tray, a unique ashtray, or a colorful serving dish in your dining room. Our acclaimed High Tide Candle (Elle just endorsed it as one of the best) enhances your well-being while minimizing the aroma of your herb. In your handbag, our Malette Cigarette Case and Poche Pocket Ashtray offer sophisticated portability for your prerolls and edibles.
Rapid-Fire Cannabis Industry Shifts
Federal prohibition means that the cannabis industry is heavily fragmented with no interstate commerce. But that could change at any time. Cannabis is only completely illegal in 8 states. With each new state legalization, the landscape shifts.
Basing investment in state-siloed markets could be great to start but disastrous in the long term.
For example, expending the enormous resources on a growing Northeastern license could be tremendously profitable today. Meanwhile, Oregon limited its 2019 production because their supply was double demand, producing a price-plummeting glut. That dynamic, however, is likely to flip. After federal decriminalization, premium sun-grown marijuana produced year-round on the West Coast will gobble up countrywide market share. So, an NJ growing license is likely to monumentally underperform your investment while investing in Oregon might be the perfect long game.
Cannabis Industry Challenges
The cannabis industry has unique challenges. Due to federal prohibition, payment processing is difficult—especially for THC-related ventures. Banks even deem CBD a high-risk business, which means the payment processing fees are much higher than normal.
Cannabis marketing also requires creativity. Affordable micro-targeting (e.g., social media ads and search engine marketing) isn’t available to cannabis companies.
If you don’t have the big marketing dollars it takes to run ads elsewhere, the name of the game is SEO, content marketing, and PR.
Inside scoop—if you’re an SEOer who can cater to cannabis companies, we see serious wealth in your future.
Content is king, especially in cannabis. You won’t see any stereotypical marijuana images at House of Puff. We break the typical associations of marijuana marketing to normalize cannabis for high functioning women. To maximize our content marketing, we launched an editorial sister site, The Drawing Room, where we leverage high culture content that intertwines cannabis with hosting and art. We’re accomplished writers, so content marketing is natural for us. But we’ve had to level up our SEO game, too.
In short, the Green Rush isn’t without its challenges, but opportunities for women are legion. Now’s your chance to get in on the ground floor. Don’t let it pass you by.
WRITTEN BY
Kristina Lopez