Spoilers for the ending of Weeds follow
At the end of Weeds the lead character Nancy, played by Mary Louise Parker, is running a series of pot coffee shops, similar to Starbucks but with marijuana on the menu. The show, which ended in 2012, jumped forward to an unspecified point in the future when marijuana was legalized. That’s what came to mind when I heard that Skinnygirl founder Bethenny Frankel is going to sell pot in the four states where recreational use is legalized. She’s come up with the idea to market a strain of marijuana that doesn’t make people get the munchies. Add some appetite suppressant in there and she won’t be able to keep it in stock.
Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl empire will soon be capable of supplying customers with the chillest night ever. The Real Housewives of New York City star plans to launch her own line of “Skinnygirl marijuana” in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, where recreational cannabis is legal, sources reveal exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly.
“It will be a specially engineered strain of pot designed to not give you the munchies,” an insider close to the Skinnygirl cocktails creator, 44, tells Us. “She read about how profitable the cannabis industry is and wants to get in on that.”
Bethenny is just the first celebrity to jump on the pot bandwagon. I expect to soon see Goop branded artisanal marijuana hand picked by Guatemalan children. It gives you the feeling that you’re superior in every way and that you achieved it all on your own without any help. (Credit to Kaiser for helping me with that joke.)
Of course Bethenny’s first concern would be that she doesn’t eat more than the 800 calories a day she usually consumes. It’s true that lot of people hate the way they mindlessly eat when they’re stoned. Bethenny’s drink brands have been called watery so it’s not like her pot is going to be excellent, though. She’s using her brand to sell to women in an up and coming market. It’s smart, but it doesn’t mean she’s going to produce quality product. (Not that I would know. I wouldn’t!)
Photo credit: Getty Images and FameFlynet
May be trickier than she thinks. Stores in Coloradi have run into trouble. Not because they’re not making money but because of banking. Marijuana is still illegal federally and a lot of banks won’t open business accounts for marijuana transactions. That means these shops mostly operate in cash only. It can be a great local business but I don’t see how she can really capitalize on it.
Some credit unions are hoping to get fed. approval by next year to end the cash issue. May not be available to everyone but its s step. I dont think ppl getting into opening shops realize all the overhead, red tape, licenses and taxes involved. It is profitable but not as much as ppl think. Your security cost alone are insane.
That said, I dont think she’s going to find a market there. too many options and well, most ppl dont like her to put her brand above anything else.
I must be an odd one b/c I am a regular smoker but I never get munchies, in fact it kills my appetite for awhile and the bud I smoke isnt anything special thats for sure.
It’s true that the shops here in Colorado can’t put the money in a bank so everything is cash only but I really don’t think she’d need to be local to capitalize on it. If she just owned one, or two, or however many she has enough money to pay other people to run it for her and even hire a security team somewhere else to keep an eye on the employees. A lot of local dispensaries are run in house by the people that own them, who enjoy and believe in their work, but that doesn’t mean she has to do the same. Most of these places keep their money in a giant safe and then dip back into the pool to pay for anything related to the business. She could basically have a big safe full of cash profits waiting for her to pick it up whenever she wants.
As far as all the red tape involved – yes that’s a PITA but I don’t think it would stop her. I live near downtown Denver and there’s so many dispensaries here. I could walk to 5 easily right now. There are more opening all the time so it must be a profitable business or people wouldn’t bother. Tons of people are getting rich selling pot.
Regarding if her dispensary/brand would actually sell…that’s tough to say. People here are really into good strains and hash oil that you smoke with a vaporizer pen. Unless her strain tastes great, smells great, and gives a fantastic high people would probably pass it up. Growers here know their sh*t and are proud of their good bud. She’d have a lot of people to compete against.
Congratulations, you watched 60 minutes.
This is so wrong on so many levels. This obsession with making everything serving “skinny” hurts my brain. What does this mean, really? It means even more chemicals for people to consume, more artificial ingredients doing who-knows-what to te body. That doesn’t sound healthy at all to me. (But what do I know, living on 800 calories a day doesn’t sound healthy to me either.)
Good Lord, people like Bettheny Frankel make so much money by actively making people suppress common sense!, as in: try to eat reasonably (meaning: reasonable amounts of everything) and healthy, skip the pre-processed food, work out a bit and embrace your body type. Enjoy life, goddamnit!
Let’s promote GMOs, because of course.
To clarify, I got the 800 calorie a day number from reviews of one of her diet books, where readers said that the diet she recommends clocks in around 800 calories. Several reviewers on Amazon mentioned that the recommended diet in her Naturally Thin book is less than 1,000 calories a day. So 800 might not be dead on but it’s close.
Sorry, but no. If you embrace your body type and don’t wish to lose or work on your weight, simply avoid weight-loss brands. There is no shame in wanting “skinny” for yourself… just don’t be harsh on others who don’t share your view.
The munchies can be a terrible thing. Marijuana usage is a personal choice, and can help with a myriad of conditions. However, the side effect can be an overwhelming desire to eat everything in sight.
i hate to say it, but a strain or two of pot that does the opposite of the munchies is a fabulous idea. Not everyone has the ability to control their impulses very well, and this product will sell like hotcakes.
I dunno. I tried her skinny girl margaritas and all it gave me was the desire to add more tequila. But if she can pull this off, it’s always nice to have options in the marketplace.
I would have loved that when I used to smoke weed! Alas, it was time to give it up and I don’t regret it, although I do miss it sometimes.
The few times I smoked up other than the high, the next best thing was getting the munchies.
Same here. I enjoy eating as much as the next person. But when I’m high, the food seems to taste even better. One of my fondest memories is eating at In-N-Out Burger immediately after getting stoned with a friend. “Animal Style” fries – heaven!
I’ve yet to find a strain that doesn’t give me the munchies, so I’m actually going to withhold my usual judgment and hope that she figures out a good business model. I have to smoke/vaporize much less often than I used to, even though I need it more than ever for nausea and anxiety. My metabolism’s just not that high (hah) anymore in my late 20’s, and resisting the urge to snack often feels impossible… so I gain 15 pounds every single time I have a steady supply, then lose it again afterwards, which cannot be good for my metabolism either.
HOWEVER! It’s awesome when I’m too anxious or nauseous to eat; it’s been my saving grace so many times. And it’s the only thing that can instantly cure my worst cramps and (increasingly rare) hangovers.
It sucks to rely on pharmaceuticals instead of something natural, so I cannot WAIT to live somewhere that it’s more accessible, so I can find a strain exactly like the one she describes. It’s an admirable mission.
[Medical weed was on our ballot last November, and failed to pass by a couple percentage points despite winning the majority. I was pissed. I’m jealous of friends in Portland/Seattle/Denver, and I wouldn’t move to these cities for pot alone… but it would be a very welcome perk.]
You and me both. Im pretty sure my state will be one of the last ones to even pass it for med. only purposes even tho most voters are for it. they tried to put a bill thru last year but it nit picked and put so many restrictions on the uses that only a few would be able to use it but even that didnt go thru.
It’s infuriating how so few people can stand in the way of progress and relief for so many. It started with the paper industry, now it’s tobacco and alcohol and Big Pharma. Still don’t understand why it’s perfectly acceptable to let politicians take money from corporations. That’s not how we get fair laws that put voters, instead of posh lifestyles, first.
Hate the name “Skinny Girl.” For one thing, she’s hardly a girl. And it just suggests that the only important thing is your weight – not your health or vitality, just those numbers on the scale.
Yes! I loathe her so much that I will boycott her brand no matter what. Bring on the calories! I’d rather run for days than contribute anything her way.
Yes! I hate that name SO MUCH! Ill, emaciated, limp girl with no energy comes to mind.
Weed that doesn’t give you the munchies is pointless.
I quite like the dubious 24/7 convenient store hotdog and cheese puff combo 😏
She’s so gross
LMAO. She is totally missing the point. tbh, I think she has serious issues. Maybe some weed would do her good.
Oh she definitely has issues.
Leave pot alone Bethenny! You and Monsato!
Boy she really hates food, doesn’t she?
tee-hee!
Might give you Anorexia!!
Shoot, I think this is ingenious. I love being high for certain things, but sometimes pass bcuz it makes me ravenous.
Agreed. I would be all over this. The only thing standing between me and a lovely afternoon sesh is the ridiculous, unabating desire to eat everything in the fridge. It’s disgusting. I hate on ppl so much who don’t get the munchies like that lol
If this is true, it’s both funny and smart on her part.
What a weirdo. Smoke pot, eat crudite. Problem solved.
For real! When I’m stoned I actually enjoy fresh produce the most. Crunching down carrots and slicing up fresh tomato is heaven.
Anyway when I used to get a little crazy with the munchies, when I was much younger, I just decided to eat before I smoked and then just avoid food.
But once I learned that you can get the munchies and enjoy strawberries as much as Doritos and ice cream it was a game changer for me!
I don’t even like pot or Bethenny but this sounds like a brilliant idea.
I used to smoke pot occasionally many, many years ago for migraine headaches. It was the only thing that stopped the nausea and allowed me to eat until the headache went away. Luckily for me the headaches stopped as I got older and I no longer touch the stuff. (I also gave up drinking so I’m boring these days) However, I discovered that I can’t smoke to the point of being “stoned” because it also causes panic attacks for me. But because I know from personal experience that it is medicinal I’ve never opposed it’s being legal. In fact, I would like to see it legalized and regulated so that all of the crap that’s added in that could be harmful to people would be taken out. I recently had a very scary incident with a close relative that smokes regularly but did not realize their pot had been replaced mainly with Spice. They had an adverse reaction and ended up in the hospital with temporary (thank God!) psychosis. People can be so unscrupulous. Anyway, Bethanny’s idea of removing the munchies from the Pot would be counterintuitive to certain people like me that use it so they can overcome nausea and eat. But in a perfect future like the one depicted on Weed’s would mean we could indulge in all sorts of different strains of marijuana. I think it would be cool to have cafes like Amsterdam for those who like to indulge.
Yes! I listed cramps, hangovers, and anxiety in my comment… but it’s a miracle treatment for migraines too. One bowl + one Excedrin = mild annoyance instead of excruciating pain.
There are SO many medicinal benefits, and still people believe the propaganda. Because of misinformation and refusal to change, I can’t legally buy the safest, most affordable and most effective medicine. It’s idiotic, and I agree with you: in a perfect future, we could take our pick from the different benefits it offers.
GOD! This woman gives me the rages!
I don’t think Amsterdam will be calling any time soon…
Well, eating is the best thing to do stoned, imo…
Sex is kinda fun too….
There already is a strain that doesn’t give you the munchies. It’s called Sativa. Indica is what is giving you the munchies!
My biggest problem with weight gain is the munchies. I’d buy skinny girl weed
To see if it helped.
Count me among those who enjoy the munchies. I only smoke up once a week, so I guess it would be more of a problem for more frequent smokers, but I love how everything tastes when I’m high. On Sunday I got a bag of Crispy M&Ms, which were my favorite before they were discontinued but are now back….Combined with Monsters vs Aliens it was amazing.