This Wasn't Your Average Tupperware Party

Women in San Francisco have taken an outdated concept and made it much more fun. A group of pot-entrepreneurs recently gathered for a weed Tupperware party, replacing the handy plastic containers with their own weed wares and products. Talk about supply and demand, am I right?

But the get-together was more than just an afternoon of visiting and getting high. According to SFGate, invitees included Ramona Rubin, whose company Doc Green’s Healing College line makes healing creams with cannabis; Alison Ettle, who founded SweetLeaf, which makes healthy weed treats; and fifteen other women interested or working in the pot industry. The women invited were eager to network and find ways of breaking the “green ceiling.” California will be voting on whether or not to legalize weed as soon as next year, and the marijuana market keeps growing. In 2013 the National Journal reported that the legal marijuana market was worth $1.53 billion, and the San Francisco Chronicle reports the current marijuana market is estimated to be worth $2.7 billion. It’s no surprise then that these women want a piece of the action.

So what, exactly happened at this Tupperware party? The women sampled pot-infused healing creams, ate vegan and gluten-free weed granola, and discussed the ways in which the industry needs to be improved for women. Some shared that male buyers don’t take their women-focused products, such as an aphrodisiac stain of weed entitled Sexxpot (seriously). Others said that they have a difficult time buying weed for menopausal pain relief when the budtenders are men who blush as the suggestion of menopause, showing that dispensary environment can be unaccommodating to women.

Conversation centered on the fact that the weed industry is largely male-dominated. Gatherings such as this Tupperware party could be just what women need to be able to talk business, gain power, and prove that they have a lot to offer the weed industry.

For all the challenges, some women actually have been kicking butt when it comes to the business of pot. Here are three women who have expertly forged their way in the industry:

1. Jane West

West owns Edible Events Co., a catering service that promises a heightened event, and founded Women Grow. Women Grow is an organization that provides networking support, education symposiums, and social events for women in the cannabis industry, with the aim of empowering women to become industry leaders.

2. Cheryl Shuman

Shuman co-founded the Beverly Hills Cannabis Club, and held a top-level position at KUSH magazine. She was even called “The Cannabis Queen of Beverly Hills” by the New York Times.

3. Dope Girls LA

Dope Girls LA is a female run and operated delivery service, comprised of women who are all weed experts. The founder, who prefers to remained anonymous due to LA’s still-developing legalization laws, started the company partly as a way for more women to get into the weed industry.

Images: Athenamama/ Flickr, Jane West /Facebook, Cheryl Shuman/Facebook, Dope Girls LA/Facebook