You would think that with all the praise marijuana gets for its ability to manage pain that someone would have already thought to come up with a line of products specifically for period cramps. Fortunately for Whoopi Goldberg, she was the first to decide to break into that particular niche.
Whoopi Goldberg is an outspoken marijuana advocate as well as a brilliant actress – she even wrote for The Cannabist about her use of a vape pen to relieve pain from headaches caused by glaucoma. With the cannabis industry growing at the rate it is (projected to be a $20 billion dollar industry within the next four years) she decided to dive in.
After speaking with a few of the industry’s experts to find out if there were already a marijuana infused product targeted at menstrual cramps she found out that no one had bothered to target that market because it was considered a niche.
“Hey, this niche is half the population on the earth,” she says. “This seems to be people flippantly blowing you off, which is what you get whenever you start talking about cramps. They weren’t thinking how do you target this? I have grown granddaughters who have severe cramps, so I said this is what I want to work on.”
From there she got in touch with Maya Elisabeth, owner of Om Edibles, and the two partnered up to create Maya & Whoopi – a line of cannabis infused edibles, topical rubs, oil extracts and even a THC-infused bath soak. Some of the products will feature CBD for those who are not comfortable with the effects of THC, though all products will be available infused with THC.
These products are being designed for women who are either not comfortable smoking a joint or for whom smoking a joint or similar would not fit in with their workday. There are products that will range in ease of use and convenience and will help to provide relief for menstrual cramps throughout the day, without use of commercial products like Midol.
“This, you can put it in your purse,” Goldberg continues. “You can put the rub on your lower stomach and lower back at work, and then when you get home you can get in the tub for a soak or make tea, and it allows you to continue to work throughout the day.”
I think it’s wonderful that Whoopi decided to jump into the cannabis market and to put the focus on something that isn’t talked about that often. Marijuana is a perfect medicine for conditions such as PMDD since it can help balance out your mood and relieve pain as well.
The Maya & Whoopi products are likely to be available in April for California residents – unfortunately it will likely be a while before the products are available in other states. However, I’m sure they will see lots of success with this venture and that should help them to hopefully spread their brand so women across the country can find relief from their products.
