Romance, like so much in our digital age, is niche.
There are dating sites for older people, younger people; people with money, people who claim not to care about money; and people living on farms. Christians have their own dating sites. So do Jews and Muslims.
So it should surprise no one that cannabis enthusiasts looking for romance have carved out their own niche in the world of dating sites and related apps.
There are several sites — including My420Mate.com, StonerSingles.com and 420Dating.org — aimed at helping cannabis lovers connect with other cannabis lovers.
“I’m a single man and I love smoking pot,” said the proprietor of 420Dating.org, who asked not to be identified. “I wanted a safe space to find my true love, and I figured others would want that too. So I created the site.”
The response inspired even more ideas. The same entrepreneur also launched 420Seniors.com and is an influencer in the Southern California cannabis scene.
“I expected the audience to the site to be mostly younger people,” he said of 420Dating.org. “But in truth, the demographics skewed 28 to 45, which really surprised me.”
The site is international, he said, with the database managed out of England. Customers are mostly from the United States, followed by Europe and the Far East. But he said one mantra crosses these boundaries.
“Potheads stay together,” he said. “Studies have shown.”
This new niche dating market is modernizing quickly, with one app that’s helping cannabis lovers connect clearly finding an audience.
Two years after launch, the dating app High There! has nearly a million downloads for iOS and Android, and continues to grow quickly, according to spokesperson Rosie Mattio.
“We have users everywhere from California, to Denver, to New York and Florida to the Netherlands, Australia and UK and beyond,” Mattio explained by email.
“We have definitely seen growth in California and the other states that voted in the election,” she said. “We even just spoke to a couple that met on the app that live in San Francisco and just moved in together, so California is definitely a significant market for our app.”
Mattio said the audience for her company also includes users who are older than they originally anticipated.
“While most of our users fall into the millennial demographic we really have a nice amount of Baby Boomers and beyond who are connecting on the app around their common interests as well.”
Membership on “High There!” is free and takes about five minutes to set up a profile. The app’s users are asked how they like to consume and what they like to do when they consume, explained Mattio. New members can post photos. The app then matches profiles with people according to their preferences, Mattio said.
Success in love is happening through these new sites, according to company officials.
Mattio reports that while attending a music festival with her sponsored booth, they heard from a High There! pair with a happy ending.
“An adorable couple came over to us and told us they met on the app and are getting married in July 2017,” Mattio said. “Stories like that are always exciting for us.”
So is the future in niche dating really in this market?
“We’ve learned through High There! that the cannabis consumer/enthusiast is really a fun, honest, open and non-judgmental person, which lends itself to a great dating experience and relationships,” Mattio said. “We are happy that we can connect these individuals for both dating and also meaningful friendship.”
