Online Dating for Cannasseurs Just Got Easier

For years, cannabis users have struggled with the awkward pitfalls of
dating: Things will be going well, then the hopeful candidate lets slip that
they use cannabis to wind down after a long day instead of a glass of wine, or
medicate with cannabis, and the spell is broken. All of a sudden, the user is
looked at as a drug addict, and written off as someone not in the datable
category.

Today, with the advent of online dating, these issues are getting
easier to manage, as there is room on most online profiles to state outright
that one is a cannabis user. This is an easy hurdle to tackle in states where
cannabis is legal; there is no potential for persecution if the user states
outright that they enjoy cannabis. And just as there are specialized dating
sites for farmers and religious Jews, there are now specific dating sites for
cannabis users.

The most famous of these is My420Mate.com,
a site that connects cannabis users only. The site has pretty good reviews
overall, and some success stories. Creator Jay Lindberg came up with the idea
in 2014 and the site went live on April 20. Their tagline is “plant your seed
and watch your love grow,” a slogan inspired by the growing industry. “Some
people might think it’s just a dating site for hippies or stoners,” he reported
to the Riverfront Times. “This
website is for people from all walks of life, from the medical-marijuana
patients to casual smokers to business professionals who may be in the cannabis
lifestyle but they keep it out of their professional life.”

However, there are also a fair amount of issues with this new platform.
While the site seems easy enough to navigate and is laid out similarly to OK Cupid, Facebook and other social
media sites, it looks a bit busy, and the profile photos tend to blend a little
with the ads that are prevalent on the site. While My420Mate does ask a series of Jungian questions similar to those
on OK Cupid in order to pair matches
together, some online complaints express that there is too much focus on
cannabis, and not enough on other aspects.

The site also seems a bit geared towards serious relationships, unlike
more modern dating app sites like Tinder or OK
Cupid that also promote casual hookups and friendships. However, if a
casual fling is what you are looking for, there are plenty of other dating sites
out there that are more conducive to that formula. To name a few, some other
recent sites are Plenty of Kush, Date420Friendly, StonerSingles and My420Singles.
Some of these sites, namely Plenty of Kush,
also support friend-only browsing and more casual searching.

One common theme between all these sites, unfortunately, is that they
appear to be a bit more of a racket than the average mainstream dating site.
Most of these sites only allow public messaging to users, and for private
messaging the member must pay a monthly fee. Since most people don’t want to
make their romantic overtures in a public forum, this means the only people who
really have access to the site are those who are willing to pay. While many
sites like OK Cupid do offer a
premium package to promote usage, this usually includes being able to see who
browsed your profile or to add more photos or information, not for the basic
privileges of being able to reach other members.

Obviously this is still a very new format, and there are some kinks to
work out. Most of these sites are still profit seeking; the names that include
“stoner,” “kush” or “4/20” may alienate some users who are more subtle with
their cannabis appreciation, and the aim towards single and straight people
discourages participation by queer, polyamorous, homosexual or transgender
users. However, these sites seem to be doing very well for projects still in
their growing period, and are sure to blossom soon as the industry continues to
expand.