Q&A With Ellen Scanlon: Host Of "How To Do The Pot" Podcast

How to Do the Pot is a weekly podcast that demystifies cannabis for women through joyful, narrative storytelling and informed recommendations and advice. Since late 2019, host Ellen Scanlon has brought listeners compelling narratives from women across the U.S. who have discovered how to incorporate cannabis into their lives, whether that means as a stress or pain reliever, sex enhancer, sleep aid, or simply as a means to achieving a healthier buzz at the end of a long day. 

 

Creator & Host Ellen Scanlon of the "How To Do The Pot" Podcast.

 

 Scanlon also highlights the voices of accredited medical professionals and trusted experts to ensure listeners are fully informed about issues such as dosage, general safety, legal issues, and more.

Q. Ellen, you have completed 140 episodes so far. How did you start the podcast? Why?

Healthcare challenges are really what brought me to the cannabis industry. In 2010, I was in a bad bike accident and had several injuries, including breaking sixteen of my teeth. It was a tough recovery, and the side effects of prescribed medicine caused even more health issues.

When adult-use cannabis became legal in California in 2016, it was easier and more fun to consume cannabis in ways that clearly improved my well-being. I want to make that path easier for women all across the country as we enter this new paradigm of legal access to cannabis. Weed has always been sold by word of mouth, so a podcast seemed like a great way to reach women across the country and share the amazing things I was learning about the plant.

Q. How did you prepare for your hosting duties on the podcast?

It has been quite the journey. In the beginning, my trick to keep from feeling very self-conscious was to pretend I was talking to just one friend. It helps that I’m so passionate about sharing all I’ve learned about cannabis. It’s an incredibly exciting and challenging industry, and way more complicated than I ever imagined. I hear so often from friends and listeners that my tips have helped them find new ways to combat stress, sleep better, and have better sex - just a few examples of ways cannabis can bring more balance to women’s lives. That really helps my confidence as a host and inspires me to stay at the mic!

Q. Can you identify one piece of knowledge you wish you had before you started the podcast?

I have always been a huge audio fan, but when I wanted to start my own show - I reached out to the pros. We worked with Western Sound in LA, and Gina Delvac and Stephen Hoffman were the producers of our first episodes. Rachael King at Pod People helped find producers and writers that have brought depth and experience to our team. Podcasting is much more work than people realize, and I learned so much by having talented professionals to lean on from the beginning. Now that we produce all our shows in-house, I feel extra grateful to have started out learning from and working with passionate, experienced audio talents.

Q. How did you develop the "First Time I Bought Legal Weed" episode concept?

In the early days of adult use in California, a good friend who had experience buying cannabis brought me along on one of her shopping trips. I was too intimidated to go by myself! Now that I’ve been in the industry for a few years, I realize this is still a pain point. I don’t want anyone to feel alone or scared on their first trip, so we started a series called “The 1st Time I Bought Legal Weed”, which has been extremely popular and we’re excited to grow its reach.

Women from all over the country share how they felt - excited, nervous, overwhelmed, thrilled - the first time they bought legal weed. The community of women on the episodes is so diverse and a true reflection of the cannabis consumer today. I love that all the stories are in service of helping women feel good about that first buying experience. We would love to hear your story! Please send us a voice memo to hi@dothepot.com.

Q. Where did the Sleep 101 concept come from?

The sleep series started because I wanted to provide a clear resource to answer the many, many questions I get about how cannabis improves sleep. I considered the conversations I was having with women in my life, then reached out to other women whose lives have been transformed by better sleep with cannabis. Next, I found expert medical professionals who could speak to traditional medicine and to cannabis. How can weed help women fall asleep and stay asleep? The short answer is that THC can help you fall asleep quickly, and CBD helps you stay asleep all night. But do you know what that means? Many people don’t, so the series helps women understand the practical steps to bringing cannabis into the bedroom and finding their way to better rest.

Q. Where would you like the podcast to go in the future?

I realize there is still a stigma surrounding cannabis, especially in states that don’t have legal access yet. While it may not be for everyone, I believe women should know that it can help with everything from menstrual cramps to anxiety. Cannabis and people who consume it hasn't always gotten the best rep throughout history, so through educating women about some of its clear benefits, our podcast is working to change the narrative. We focus on giving practical tips, finding common ground through stories, and helping women become more open to developing a more nuanced view of cannabis.

I want the stories on How to Do the Pot to be relatable to all women, whatever your relationship is with cannabis. Cannabis legalization is showing that you don't have to be a certain kind of person to like weed or to have cannabis in your life in a positive, fun way.

Q. How has podcasting changed since you started?

When I first started in podcasting, a number of people I knew had never listened to one. That rarely happens anymore, which shows the rapid growth in the podcasting industry. I still listen to many of the OG podcasts, and my favorite is Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Her point of view, incredible content and connection with her listeners inspired me to start How to Do the Pot. And I confess not everyone thought a podcast about women & cannabis would find an audience! The path for podcasters is much clearer now, and I’m excited to see real investment in audio as a channel to build a loyal, engaged community. 

My experience is probably not what you would expect from a cannabis entrepreneur. I grew up on the East Coast, started my career on Wall St, got my MBA, and moved to California in 2009, where I discovered my passion for startups. I founded a strategy and marketing consultancy, working with entrepreneurs and business leaders across a range of fast-growing industries. It was when I was working for a venture-backed women’s healthcare company that I saw up close the challenges preventing women from getting the care they deserve.

Q. What do you think is the answer to: My listeners come to my podcast to...?

A lot of women are curious about cannabis but not sure where to start, so I think listeners have gravitated to How to Do the Pot because while our episodes are short, they are packed with fun, useful, and shareable information.

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How To Do The Pot exemplifies all that is good, beneficial, and listener focused about podcasting. The creator and host, Ellen Scanlon, identified a problem and developed a podcast to make things better for her audience -- in this case, women curious about cannabis.

It's obvious that host Ellen Scanlon is passionate about helping her listeners. It's also clear that she respects them and constantly reaches out to discover their needs. 

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Ellen Scanlon's dreams improve the reality of her listeners every day.