Historically, public cannabis use has been reserved for men. Cheech and Chong helped pave the way for stoners in Hollywood. Everybody loves to get nice and toasty before a Seth Rogen flick. Pop culture continues to celebrate Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa while women are virtually invisible when it comes to enjoying cannabis culture.
So in honor of Womenâs History Month, I wanted to salute all the influential women not ashamed to smoke drugs. These women are breaking the mold and inspiring an open dialogue to normalize girls who like ganja. Here is a list of women who have expressed a love for Mary Jane and sparked up a conversation about women and weed.
Broad City can be considered revolutionary when it comes to realistic depictions of women who smoke weed. For the first time in history, you can turn on your TV and follow the miscellaneous hijinks these two get into while getting high throughout Manhattan. The fictional twosome is based on the showâs real-life creators Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobsonâboth write, direct, produce, and star in this refreshing sitcom on Comedy Central. The dynamic duo blazed through Portland not too long ago and I can only imagine what kind of zany fun they had visiting the dispensaries of Portland.
Glazer and Jacobsonâs attitude toward weed is a step in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing a broader range of representation when it comes to weed-smoking women in TV and filmâdespite most mainstream portrayals of âstoner chicksâ being petite white women. (For an exception, check out the web series Brown Girls, starring two women of color who occasionally blaze.)
Number two on the list has given us all reefer madness.
It was a magical day the first time I saw Rihanna sitting poolside with a blunt in her hand. The Island Goddess has proved that women who smoke pot can be successful entrepreneurs, scholars, entertainers, and everything in between. She was recently awarded the Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year Award for her work in philanthropy. Rihanna is iconic in the way she unapologetically advocates for living your best life while being a cannabis enthusiast.
As a writer, Maya Angelou has always been a huge influence on me. I would give anything to have enjoyed an herbal refreshment with her. Itâs no secret that Angelou was a habitual smoker. She talked about using the healing properties of cannabis to relieve her anxiety. She went on to explain her relationship with the precious herb in her autobiography, Gather Together in My Name:
âSmoking grass eased the strain for me. I made a connection at a restaurant nearby. People called it Mary Jane, hash, grass, gauge, weed, pot, and I had absolutely no fear of using it.â Angelou was fearless in everything she did, including her appreciation for pot.
Last but not least is Miley Cyrus. Everyone was caught off guard when Hannah Montana started wearing rainbow dreadlocks and posting naked mirror selfies. It didnât take long to figure out that the smoke filling the frame was in fact a haze of cannabis.
After discovering pot, it seemed like Miley Cyrus got turned out and decided to turn up. Things got really wild with her debut video for a song off of her psychedelic passion project, Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz. The record was described by Flavorwire as âa collection of layered psychedelia.â With technicolor designs and no shortage of glitter, Cyrus showed the world what is possible when people decide to expand their minds while taking recreational drugs.
There are plenty more proud women pot smokers beyond this list, but a lot of women are still scared of being judged and having to deal with the stigma attached to smoking weed. Whether a woman is a mom or a teacher or an executive, society still places an unspoken code of conduct for what is appropriate behavior for a woman. The women on this list remain trailblazers as they abandon the expectations for what is deemed ladylike. As Womenâs History Month continues, remember to honor them next time you smoke.
