• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, August 30, 2016

We are indeed living in a brave new world. In the latest awesomeness, seniors who happen to enjoy cannabis, or use it for medical reasons, will soon be able to find each other online thanks to a planned new marijuana social network intended just for older adults.

Based in Detroit, the Seniors 420 Network will go live with a Web site and newsletter sometime later this year if they can get their act together, according to the Detroit Metro Times.

The group’s founder, Catherine Masters, tells the Detroit Metro Times that the social network will allow members to find like-minded friends and roommates, collaborate on business opportunities, buy and sell goods and services, and share marijuana-related tips, as well as organizing to change drug laws.

Masters added: “We’re a very vibrant group of people who truly understand the value marijuana gives us. Most seniors are on way too many meds and marijuana gives us an alternative to them.”

The Michigan electorate voted to legalize marijuana for medical use in a referendum held in 2008, but earlier this year the state court of appeals issued a decision saying dispensaries aren’t protected by the law, leaving the situation rather confused. Subsequently, many medical marijuana users have turned to home cultivation, although “caregivers” can distribute to up to five people -- both areas where a social network could come in handy.

While it may be the first one designed for older users, Seniors 420 Network has plenty of company in the marijuana social space. Another network, MassRoots, connects users and allows them to share content including reviews, technical advice, and directories listing legal cannabis dispensaries. There’s no transactional element, but users who meet online through the network may choose to buy and sell the drug elsewhere.

There’s also a marijuana-focused online ad network, launched earlier this year by AdCellerant and Voice Media Group, a Denver-based media company that publishes LA Weekly, the Phoenix New Times, the Dallas Observer, and Miami New Times, among other community newspapers. The network is focused on programmatic display advertising and extends to publications outside Voice Media’s own portfolio.