#MerryJane - #SnoopDogg's Weed-Based #SocialMedia Platform

TechCrunch

This might not necessarily be the most surprising news, but you still might need to read that title over a few times to get the full sense of it. Nobody in America seems to have capitalised more on the increasing legality of marijuana than Snoop Dogg. In 2014 he started doing a news and talk show which is basically entirely built around blowing trees and he's been one of a few notable celebrities to come out with their own brand of weed, alongside Whiz Khalifa, Kevin Smith, Willy Nelson and the late Bob Marley (through his family estate, not from beyond the grave, stay calm).

With this latest venture, he seems to be advancing the very nature of stoner culture, appearing at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference on Monday to unveil 'Merry Jane', his green-fingered social network. The ad-supported haze-haven will be geared towards both sellers and smokers, acting as an open forum and an information hub where people can investigate different strains, research which vaporiser to buy and debate the best stoned TV (probably either Adventure Time or Wonders of the Universe, for my money).

Tech Radar

There will be an editorial component as well, fronted by actor and fellow weed advocate Seth Rogen, and the site will also feature various different shows, such as a cooking program showing people how to make all the best edibles and Deflowered, which focuses on people trying weed for the first time, similar to the videos showing grandmothers and retired police officers trying it which trended earlier this year. The difference is that with Deflowered, the people involved actively discuss their earlier experience in it, rather than actually doing it on camera, and there's far more of an impetus on marijuana's medicinal value. But they also get high while they're talking about it, natch. You could watch the first one below, but as stated, it does include a fair amount of (perfectly legal) marijuana use, so if you take issue with that, best not to hit the play button.



There will also reportedly be a comprehensive database of all the different strains detailing their effects, strength and availability, curated by a team of, and there's no other way to say this, marijuana experts. This is as much aimed at growers as buyers, which further pages detailing the best equipment and conditions to grow each specific strain. Dispensaries themselves will have their own store-front pages, making it easy for them to keep their clientèle up to date on stock, menu changes and special events. Whatever your views might be on marijuana, you have to admire to comprehensive approach Snoop and his team are taking.

A key guiding ethos behind this site (apart from money) appears to be encouraging people to be more open about their smoking habits. Marijuana might be gradually sliding into widespread legality, but it is still maligned by a large subset of society and many people are still reluctant to openly admit that they smoke/eat/vape it. That will undoubtedly alter with time, but Snoop is clearly keen to accelerate the process.

This site will likely act as a kind of yardstick for the progress of weed culture as it becomes more legally and socially acceptable, and it will be interesting to see how advertisers take advantage of it as time goes by. The beta launched with a limited set of 420 (hehehe) users on Monday, with no full launch date yet scheduled. Presumably they're still drawing up the contract for the collaborative deal with Domino's.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @CallumAtSMF

Contact us on Twitter, on Facebook, or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info: TheSMFGroup.com