As Cannabis Legalizes Across the U.S., Women Are Shaping Safe Spaces to Consume It

This is part of a collection of stories on the intersection of weed and travel, from Women Who Travel. Read the full guide—with practical tips, travel experiences to check out, and more—right here.

When cannabis was first legalized for adult-use in Colorado and the Pacific Northwest, the cannabis community dreamed big. There was talk of luxury smoking lounges in the back of fine wine bars; cafes pouring mochas made with cannabis-infused chocolate; dispensaries attached to wellness clinics with a licensed massage therapist on staff. Then the finer points of state laws and local rules were established, and one by one, these exciting, multi-use musings were rendered illegal and impossible by regulators. But just as cannabis culture has developed and advanced throughout decades of prohibition, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

In all states that have legalized, regulators focus primarily on cultivation licenses and retail establishments rather than when and where people consume, which is typically only allowed to take place out of sight within a private residence (save for New York City, where consumption is permitted anywhere cigarettes are allowed). States that authorize home delivery only factor in residential addresses, removing hotels and resorts from the equation. So when Michigan legalized cannabis in 2018, Detroit natives Jessica and Jacqara Jackson were quick to realize the simplest way to get an early start in the cannabis business would be to open up their home as a consumption-friendly space.

The couple redecorated their historic home in the Bagley neighborhood, highlighting their vast collection of copper art and creating a lush, softly-lit oasis in the backyard. They named their home the Copper House, hosting their first guest in January of 2019 through the cannatourism website Bud and Breakfast—and a steady flow of visitors soon followed as curious out-of-staters came to experience legal cannabis for themselves. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., the Jacksons blacked out the calendar and put everything on hold. Who’d want to smoke in a stranger’s home in times like these? But a few months in, a DM seeking a private, cannabis-friendly space that could host an outdoor photoshoot hit their inbox. Having an outdoor space proved to be an asset during the COVID-19 era, and it showed them the greater potential of their home. The Jacksons went on to host micro-weddings and art community gatherings in their backyard, providing an opportunity for Detroit’s cannabis community to strengthen as it weathered all that COVID-19 brought.

Beyond that, the Jacksons’ care to create a safe space for the queer community and Black creatives of Detroit made Copper House a fixture in across the city’s art scene. Recent renovations have created more room for overnight groups as well as cannabis-centric tea parties and intimate conversations about identity and sexual expression.

“A lot of times our community just needs space to facilitate what they are already doing,” says Jessica, who’s become an influential advocate for body positivity and social equity in cannabis. “More than the cannabis and the atmosphere, I think the thing that all of our customers share is a desire to connect and get vulnerable. It’s about cultivating an environment that makes that possible—something Big Cannabis is not doing.”

In Jessica’s eyes, the industry is failing women in particular—reinforcing the same male-dominated experiences at most cannabis events through classic stoner bro styling in which aesthetics and sensory stimulation come second (or not at all), while representation of women is still more likely to be cute girls handing out free samples rather than an effort to cater to female perspectives. Just because men and women both enjoy the plant does not mean women feel welcomed in all cannabis spaces.

Across the country in Oregon, chef Liv Vasquez’s entry into the cannabis event scene came about following a traumatic stint in cannabis retail. After 15 years as a cook and restaurateur in New York and Los Angeles, Vasquez found herself budtending at a Portland dispensary in 2014, setting out to learn as much as she could about the plant and find her culinary niche. Although she was well on her way to the cannabis education she wanted, working at an early stage dispensary proved far less progressive than she expected. The shop had no sense of HR or professional practices, with a lot of young people working under the impression they could do whatever they wanted. According to Vasquez, employees sent unsolicited sexual videos to coworkers and watched porn while running the reception area. When she attempted to speak up about her own sexual harassment experience, she was reprimanded and demoted. Vasquez ended up taking her employers to court and winning.

“I walked out of there wanting to make safe spaces for women to consume and learn about cannabis, because I didn’t have that,” says Vasquez, who today works as a cannabis caterer and educator—increasingly renowned for her infusing expertise since winning an episode of Netflix’s Cooked with Cannabis. “My first dozen events were strictly vetted to ensure they were kind people who wouldn’t be creepy to any of the women. I do everything I can to make people feel the opposite that I did.”

Vasquez started hosting immersive infused dining experiences in 2018, aimed to equip guests with a better sense of the science behind cannabis. She carefully crafted playlists for her events, along with aromatherapy that complemented the terpenes being smoked and thoughtful details like getting everyone to the rooftop at sunset. Low doses of cannabis are incorporated into dishes by adding, say, a little infused olive oil to pesto-injected burrata on heirloom tomatoes and fresh baked bread, or mixing a water-soluble tincture into a jalapeño grapefruit mock-margarita.

She also planned a CBD Summer Camp with East Fork Cultivars on their farm in Takilma, Oregon, in 2019. Guests stayed in modern treehouses or yurts located next to fields of cannabis and hemp for the three-night stay, and spent their days swimming in natural springs, ziplining, accompanying the on-site forager to source dinner ingredients, and touring the farm. People flew in from all over the U.S.—even Japan. And while Portland’s cannabis scene has yet to snap back, now that COVID restrictions have eased, travelers are returning to Oregon for cannabis experiences. Visitors often find Vasquez after Googling “infused dinner” or “cannabis experience,” and she works with their budget to craft something special, whether a seated dinner with gift bags for every guest or a simple infused grazing box delivered to your Airbnb.

Those who stay at Copper House or dine with Vasquez want a weed-filled experience, but more pointedly, they want to feel safe—safe in being themselves; safe in their high remaining a comfortable one; safe in knowing this won’t be like the negative cannabis experiences they may have endured in the past. The plant may be ancient, but the world of cannabis experiences is still very new, and, more than anything, travelers are seeking trustworthy destinations where their comfort is taken into account as attentively as their THC levels.