Women’s forum breaks down pot-use stigma

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This article was published 30/09/2018 (2609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the countdown to cannabis legalization closing in on its final few weeks, a new question looms on the horizon.

What will this new era of cannabis consumption mean for Canadian women?

That was the guiding light of Women and Weed, a Saturday brunch summit featuring speakers from across North America. Seventy-five women flocked to the Exchange District event to take in three hours of panel discussions.

Led by designer April Pride, the Seattle-based founder of cannabis lifestyle brand Van der Pop, the five speakers also included Winnipeg patient advocate and parent Ashleigh Brown and Ontario-based sexologist Carlen Costa.

In a wide-ranging, lively and often lighthearted discussion, the panelists explored many facets of women’s experience with cannabis: everything from making edibles to using cannabis as medicine for body or mind.

They talked about how to infuse butters with cannabis, for cooking or cosmetics. They discussed how estrogen impacts the effects of the drug and about how some women use cannabis to treat seizures or endometriosis.

And they talked about parenting while using pot, and how to talk to kids about it all. There was even a joyful discussion about how cannabis has helped women explore their sexuality or reconnect with their partners.

The event was the first stop of a cross-country series with future dates set for Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. With legalization looming, Pride says now is the time to help educate women about the possibilities of the drug.

She was inspired to do that work, in part, by a survey her company conducted. It found that even in U.S. states where pot was legal, the majority of women who used it confessed to feeling like they had to hide their usage.

“It’s unfortunate, because we are the people in our families who are the caretakers,” Pride told the Free Press. “We are in charge of health decisions, we are responsible for 85 per cent of consumer spending. We buy the products.

“We have to break down the stigma,” she continued. “(Women) won’t choose it as an alternative medicine, or as a way to live their best life, if they just feel like it’s something people will look down on them for. Especially moms.”

That message resonated with many of the the attendees, who gave the speakers a warm ovation.

Among those guests was Tasha Konkin, a Winnipeg-based yoga instructor and leader of a holistic healing group. She has been working to help educate women she works with about the medicinal effects of cannabis, she said.

“I’m just so excited to see the women in the cannabis industry who are going to be these amazing leaders, and really have a voice for women who’ve been suffering from different issues — medical and reproductive,” she said.

“It’s just coming together as a community, creating a community and creating awareness around cannabis,” she added. “Having these open conversations helps reduce the stigma surrounding it, and the fear of coming forward.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca