ca. 1990s — Whoopi Goldberg Resting Chin on Hand — Image by © Deborah Feingold/Corbis
Multi-award winning actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg has founded a medical pot company that will provide products geared for women’s health in California.
The booming marijuana business in California, Colorado and other western states has attracted entrepreneurs to invest in the lucrative and controversial drug. Goldberg, The View co-host and producer, will be one of those marijuana entrepreneurs.
Her new company, Whoopi & Maya, will serve women specifically and the company will feature four products including a balm, a tincture, sipping chocolate and a bath soak.
The products will be made with marijuana in order to relieve the pain and cramps from periods.
“I want to go nice and slow with this. I don’t want this to be a joke to people. It’s not a joke to women,” Goldberg told USA Today.
According to The Daily Beast, the products will be sold only in California to people with medical marijuana cards. Marijuana has not been legalized at the federal level, so the company’s products will not be available nationwide.
“When I asked whether there was medicinal cannabis out there to give relief to women with cramps, I was told that would be a ‘niche’ product,” Goldberg said in an interview with The Daily Beast. “We’re here for that niche, which is made up of half the population. If you or someone you love has difficult, painful periods, you may find that this [brand of products] helps.”
In just a few years, the marijuana business has brought in big money. USA Today reports that since legalization in western states like Colorado, legal marijuana made an estimated $5.7 billion in sales last year. These new weed dispensaries have employed tens of thousands of people and has boosted state economies. Legal marijuana sales is expected to bring in an estimated $23 billion in four years.
Goldberg joins other celebrities like entertainer Robert “Raffa” Marley, son of Bob Marley, and rapper Snoop Dogg who have gone into the marijuana business.
The comedienne’s Whoopi & Maya brand has not yet released pricing for their four products.
