The actress Whoopi Goldberg has cofounded a cannabis startup for women, CNN Money reports.
The company is called Whoopi & Maya, after Goldberg and her cofounder Maya Elisabeth, who’s been running medical marijuana company Om Edibles since 2008.
The women are launching four products to help relieve period cramps and discomfort. Sort of a “menstrual survival kit,” the products range from edibles, tinctures or liquid extracts, rubs and a bath soak. All are infused with cannabis
High-minded: Goldberg has a saintly presence in pop culture – from chatting with the Dalai Lama, making her name in Sister Act and even playing the part of God in It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
In a candid column for The Cannabist, Goldberg revealed the importance of the part cannabis has played in her life, in relieving pain and managing stress.
My vape pen and I maintain a mostly private relationship. Sure, I’ll sometimes show my pen to a friend or share her with a close confidant. But mostly it’s just she and I working through my pain. And her ability to help me live comfortably with glaucoma makes her one of the more important figures in my day to day.
When I show her to a friend, the reaction 99 percent of the time is: “Holy shit, where did you get this and how can I get me one?” They’re seriously that blown away by my vape pen. And they should be. She’s that amazing
Titled My Vape Pen and I, a love story, the column gave voice to women worldwide who use cannabis to treat menstrual cramps and related discomfort, not to mention those with Glaucoma, which Goldberg herself has.
Goldberg is on a mission to spread awareness of medicinal cannabis, and the launch of Whoopi & Maya represents her boldest venture yet.
According to [Maya] Elisabeth, the products are designed to be ‘discreet.’ The tincture, for instance, can be dropped into any beverage, or placed under the tongue. In the cacao, the cannabis flavor can’t be tasted, said Elisabeth.
These two products are psychoactive, meaning they may induce a marijuana high – while the bath soak and rub are not. That doesn’t mean the bath soak isn’t without effect, said Elisabeth. ‘You’ll be so relaxed, you’ll just go straight to bed,’ she said
Watch this space – cannabis-based products are filling shelves across the pond, and may well start appearing in UK stores soon rather than later (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Products will hit dispensaries in California next month – till then, customers can look forward to easy access cannabis relaxation and pain relief, straight from the shelves of their local pharmacy.
Words by Calum Armstrong
Read about the California nuns growing medicinal cannabis against the wishes of the police, and stay tuned for our feature article: ‘Women and Weed’, coming soon.