Marijuana has been an important part of Whoopi Goldberg’s life recently. Now, the Oscar-winning star of Ghost is lending her name and her financial might to a new medical Whoopi Goldberg marijuana venture designed entirely for women. <\/span><\/p>\n The comedian and actress has never shied away from marijuana use, <\/span>discussing it publicly<\/span><\/a> on a number of occasions. She now joins a number of fellow celebrities who are endorsing cannabis products, including <\/span>Bob Marley\u2019s family<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Willie Nelson<\/span><\/a> and, unsurprisingly, <\/span>Snoop Dogg<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Whoopi\u2019s company, <\/span>Whoopi & Maya<\/span><\/em> (which she co-founded with medical marijuana industry veteran Maya Elisabeth) will find its niche in the marketplace by targeting their marijuana-infused products to women. These will include a tincture, a balm, a bath soak, and sipping chocolate. <\/span><\/p>\n To begin with, the products will only be available in marijuana dispensaries in the state of California to residents with medical marijuana cards. These cards are only available via a doctor\u2019s recommendation. <\/span><\/p>\n By launching in the Golden State, the company is dipping their toe into one of the world\u2019s largest marijuana marketplaces; California boasts a staggering $2.7 billion in sales last year alone. And this marketplace could be set to explode with Californians heading to the polls to vote on a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana use.<\/span><\/p>\n As Whoopi\u2019s business partner Elisabeth contends, women have always been herbal healers. These products are being designed and positioned to compete with the more commercially available herbal remedies to potentially help women tackle the pain and cramps caused by periods. <\/span><\/p>\n As a prolific and award-winning creator of medical marijuana products and a founder of edible marijuana products cooperative <\/span>Om Edibles<\/span><\/a>, Maya Elisabeth is excited by the prospect of women feeling comfortable using cannabis to treat their discomfort.<\/span><\/p>\n And it\u2019s this appreciation of herbal medicine that marks the company\u2019s products as somewhat different from their competitors’. Take, for instance, the tincture; crammed full of medicinal herbs, red raspberry, motherwort, passionflower, organic honey, elderberries, and, of course, sun-grown cannabis, it has clearly been designed to speak to its female customer base.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, another incredibly popular treatment among women for PMS is chocolate, and this hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed by <\/span>Whoopi & Maya<\/span><\/em>. The organic raw cacao they are using in their product contains a very high amount of antioxidants, which serve to release a great deal of happiness hormones, in turn creating a pleasant, soothing effect.<\/span><\/p>\n Chocolate is effective as it contains iron, which women crave during their periods. It\u2019s also full of micronutrients and enters the body through the endocannabinoid receptor system, just like the cannabinoids in <\/span>Whoopi & Maya <\/span><\/em>products. <\/span><\/p>\n Although not entirely legal (marijuana is still deemed illegal at a Federal level) in the US, there\u2019s no denying it\u2019s big business. It now employs tens of thousands of people in cultivating, packaging, and selling cannabis. <\/span><\/p>\n And while it\u2019s still a growing industry, it is also an industry dominated by men. Goldberg and Elisabeth hope to change this with their <\/span>Whoopi & Maya<\/span><\/em> line of products and smash through the so-called \u201cgrass ceiling\u201d in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n The fact of the matter is that it\u2019s very difficult to start a marijuana-related business as a minority – or, indeed, as a woman. Rules tend to benefit established business owners with clean criminal records and access to funding, marginalizing otherwise willing entrepreneurs.<\/span><\/p>\n Whoopi\u2019s involvement is, therefore, being seen as a huge positive for women and the African-American community.<\/span><\/p>\n The state director of the Drug Policy Alliance in Colorado, Art Way, told <\/span>MSNBC<\/span><\/a> that Whoopi can help bring more credibility to the industry and also erase the “respectability politics” stigma around legally selling drugs, which still exists in some parts of the black community.<\/span><\/p>\nHerbal Healers & Chocolate Lovers<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Grass Ceiling<\/b><\/h2>\n