Marijuana dating app High There! gets approval from Apple and Google to go global
Finding people who share your interests is not always easy, especially when those interests might not be 100 percent legal. When it first launched in February, “dating app for potheads” High There was restricted by geofencing to only be usable in the handful of states where marijuana use is legal. Now the app has cleared a major obstacle as Apple Inc and Google Inc have approved High There for worldwide downloads.
High There creator Todd Mitchem explains that his app is not about encouraging drug use. “I kept saying, we are a social network first,” Mitchem told Forbes. “If you are someone interested in the movement and want to meet nice, chill people, that’s what it’s about.”
The app does not actually permit photos of marijuana consumption or any illegal activities, and its primary focus is on the social aspect rather than the drug itself, and Mitchem said, “We’re promoting a mindset that you don’t even have to consume to appreciate.”
High There matches users based on several factors, including how marijuana affects them personally as well as how they prefer to consume it. It also takes into account factors unrelated to marijuana use such as interests and hobbies.
Earlier this year, Mitchem wrote in an email, “That cancer patient who needs friends and support, the guy who lands in Denver and does not know where people go to buy great products legally, they can also connect. Just the other day I connected with a dude and talked back and forth for a while about life, weed, and built a friendship.”
Next Monday (4/20) marks an unofficial national marijuana day, and pot smokers are expected to turn out in high numbers in Denver, Colorado, where High There will also be sponsoring some of its own events.
Mitchem explained that he was pleasantly surprised by the news that Apple and Google gave the go-ahead for global release. “I thought we might hear back that they weren’t ready, or that local governments might not be okay with it and ready,” he said. “Instead, they said we were all clear to go do it globally.”
Image credit: High There! via Google Play
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