Pot Smokers Dating Website Matches Couples Based On 'Cannabis Lifestyle'

There are certain topics that should almost never be discussed on a first date because they are, at the very least, awkward -- things like political affiliation, salary and the mountain of college debt one is carrying.

Marijuana often falls into that category. Although the U.S. has become increasingly pot-friendly, cannabis aficionados whose use -- legal, medical or other -- is habitual may be reluctant to disclose their pot smoking to potential mates even in the relatively shielded realm of online dating.

Many major dating websites allow account holders to select whether or not they even want smokers contacting them in the first place.

But for those whose criteria for a relationship includes someone with an equally relaxed (or enthusiastic) attitude about marijuana, the Internet, which has compartmentalized the dating pool in so many ways, now offers people a way to find dates with whom they can share a joint, via My420mate.com.

The new dating service aims to match “people from all walks of life who enjoy the pleasures and benefits of Marijuana,” as its website states. The site officially launched this past spring, but has been in the works since last year.

"Some people might think it's just a dating site for hippies or stoners," its Los Angeles-based owner, Jay Lindberg, recently told Riverfront Times. "This website is for people from all walks of life, from the medical-marijuana patients to casual smokers to business professionals who may be in the cannabis lifestyle but they keep it out of their professional life.”

With the advent of legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington, pot smoking is hardly the underground culture it once was. Relationship-seeking stoners had ways of meeting each other before, including through online blogs and chat forums or through friends; but My420mate, with a well-designed site that is user-friendly and fun, offers a more systematic approach.

The site includes live chats and flirting applications, among other things. Members create dating profiles and add photos and they can search for partners based on a number of preferences. The most important aspect of the site?

“This website stops that awkward conversation -- who smokes pot, who does not,” Lindberg said.