More women are entering the cannabis industry every day. From farmers to dispensary owners, we’re seeing the female presence more and more.
It’s crucial to remember that the cannabis industry stretches far and wide, well beyond farming operations and smokable products.
In fact, the industry welcomes all sorts of niches, especially in the realm of art and comedy. Today, we’re introducing a woman who is creating space in the marijuana industry through her writing, comedy, and performance art.
Meet, Toni Nagy. Toni is a writer, stand up comedian, and filmmaker who loves to weave cannabis culture into her art.
Her Instagram page is another great place to catch her cannabis comedy clips and photoshoots.
“My hope is to join the movement to normalize weed because I truly believe a society of people who smoked to unwind rather than drank would be much more peaceful, introspective, and imaginative,” says Toni.
Miss Marijuana had the chance to conduct an exclusive interview with Toni to find out why she chose to focus her comedy on cannabis, how she comes up with her ideas, and what it’s been like to build her brand. Here’s what she had to say:
Miss Marijuana: How do you conceptualize the ideas for your videos?
Toni Nagy: I think most people have funny thoughts that come up randomly, but the difference between me and most people is that I compulsively write down everything that makes me laugh and then feel incomplete as a human until I make my ideas into reality.
Some concepts for videos come through conversations, others while walking in nature smoking a joint, and then plenty just pop into my head when I’m staring into the black void that is existence.
I also have a daily meditation practice and many ideas have come to me then. Even though I’m not supposed to be thinking while I meditate, my mind thinks that’s still a groovy time to think.
MM: What do you personally get out of creating your videos/content?
TN: Many performers have a desperate need to be heard/seen/acknowledged/validated/loved and I am no different. I have an insatiable need to be consumed by others in order to eat up the pain of my own meaninglessness.
I also really enjoy the process of writing, filming, and editing videos. There is something super satisfying about having a weird idea in my head and then making it into a format where others have to see inside my strange brain.
MM: What do you hope others get from your videos/content?
TN: My videos question society, culture, and the status quo. I of course want people to laugh and be entertained by my videos, but I also want them to be thought-provoking and encourage rebellious energy.
MM: Why do you believe comedy and cannabis are a good fit?
TN: Cannabis is a sacred plant that brings the adult mind back to the wonder of childhood. When you’re stoned you tend not to take yourself too seriously, which is the perfect state for comedy.
I think laughter is crucial to the human spirit because it helps our psyches to digest the incomprehensible pain of existence.
If we think too much about our mortality or the suffering of the world we have no control over, we can fall into existential and spiritual despair. We need to enjoy life because joy is contagious.
MM: What effect do you hope your comedy has on the overall culture of cannabis and the way the plant is perceived?
TN: I think many adults look for an escape, a break from their own minds, an outlet to calm the nervous system.
Alcohol is of course normalized in our culture, but for me personally, every bad decision I ever made could be traced back to drinking.
I think weed is a much safer alternative for adults to expand their consciousness or rest their souls.
My hope is to join the movement to normalize weed because I truly believe a society of people who smoked to unwind rather than drank would be much more peaceful, introspective, and imaginative.
MM: What was your very first experience with cannabis like?
TN: I was in the 8th grade and my older brother decided that I should try it with him and his girlfriend before I ever did it with anyone else.
I think he figured it was good to be safe and with safe people for the first time. I actually didn’t feel too much that time.
But the second time I smoked a few weeks later I ended up eating 45 chicken McNuggets and applying for a job at McDonald’s.
MM: If you had a bad experience with cannabis at first, what changed your mind about it?
TN: You would have to pay me $8,000,000,000 to ever set foot in a McDonald’s after that. I was so sick… so I am very grateful for that because that shit is terrible for the environment.
Smoking has always been an up and down experience. I’ve had some really hard times, and some really beautiful times.
Yet no matter what the experience, there is always something to learn. It’s a way to grow emotionally and better understand myself.
MM: Can you tell us about the moment you came up with your YouTube channel idea and Instagram page? Where were you? What was the first action step you took? How sure were you about it?
TN: I have been making videos for a very long time, but I was more into the writing, directing, and editing end of it.
It took me a while to feel comfortable in front of a camera, but I ended up making myself do it so I wouldn’t have to rely on other people’s schedules.
I am such a workaholic and when I wanted to do a video I didn’t like waiting for actors.
I came up with my YouTube channel because I was depressed and lost in life. I was in my 20s, felt like a failure, and didn’t know why I was on the planet.
I needed something to channel my energy into to feel a sense of purpose, even if it was just my weird genital jokes
MM: What other aspects of your background and experience did you draw on to help you conceptualize and create this brand?
TN: I am the type of person who likes working hard, so I think perseverance is a big part of it.
I don’t give up and I am used to failure, so I just kept going. I think for anything you want to do in life, the key is keep doing it— even when it’s hard, even when you think you suck, even when random people on the internet call you a turd.
If you keep going and keep trying then you keep building. I am not the type of person who is just naturally good at anything, so I am super used to sucking and then slowly getting sort of okay.
The good thing about being bad is that you don’t have a lot of attachment to not being excellent right away.
That opened me up to experiment more and throw the spaghetti of my consciousness at the wall of the internet.
MM: What did your friends and family think about you starting this YouTube channel/brand and Instagram page? And how did their reaction make you feel/impact the building of your brand?
TN: My mom is a natural comedian. When I was a kid and I didn’t do what she wanted, she would threaten to pick me up from school wearing her “Magnum Condom” T-shirt, which she did more than once.
Her life is the performance art of making people laugh uncomfortably, so needless to say she’s not too judgmental of the crazy shit I do. Yet even I can shock her, which I am always impressed by.
Philip Roth once gave the advice “write as if your parents were dead,” which has always stuck with me. I can’t allow myself to care about what people who know me think of what I make because then I will always be self-censoring.
Not everyone who knows/loves me feels comfortable watching my videos, but that is not a reason to not make them.
MM: What has been your biggest struggle while building your brand/business?
TN: Just always wanting more. More eyeballs, more people caring about me, more opportunities. MORE MORE MORE!!! I don’t know when it will ever feel like enough, probably when I’m dead, so I guess I will just keep making shit in the meantime.
MM: What has been the most exciting part?
TN: When random people write to me and support me. Every message I get from someone who feels compelled to reach and tell me they like what I am doing truly warms my heart and fills the hole in my soul.
Want to keep up with Toni’s work? Check out her website or Instagram channel for more content.