Woody Harrelson opens West Hollywood cannabis dispensary, hoping residents will be ‘a little taller’

Actor and cannabis legalization activist Woody Harrelson opened a new business in West Hollywood, California on Friday, May 13: a legal cannabis dispensary that also includes a consumption room located in a backyard.

Harrelson’s new development, The Woods, debuted with a grand opening ceremony attended by West Hollywood Mayor Lauren Meister and City Chamber of Commerce Director Geneviva Moriel. “I wish we had added more beauty and more good times here. “I hope we can elevate the citizens of West Hollywood a little bit more,” Harrelson told a crowd in the woods, where at least one onlooker smiled. “This is the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

Woods is one of the most likely to have up to 16 cannabis parlors (according to Eater LA) in West Hollywood. The city, which is home to around 35,000 people, is becoming a haven for the marijuana business in general and drinking parlors in particular, and a group of cannabis entrepreneurs have banded together to promote and name West Hollywood a tourist destination called the Emerald. Village.

Located at 8271 Santa Monica Boulevard (next to Norah’s restaurant, in a space that was formerly the studio of designer Thomas Schools), The Woods sells everything from beautifully designed flowers and food to a space designed to feel luxurious. Boutique.

“Well, you know, for a long time I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a dispensary, your own dispensary, this is a place you can go,’” Harrelson said. the hollywood reporter Before the ribbon cutting (where the guests were the actress’ wife Laura and her managers Jeremy Plager and Tracey Harshman). “But I never liked the idea that you can’t eat it off the ground, how can you say, you know, Amsterdam.”

Harrelson, whose partners at The Woods include Bill Maher, Scholes, Michael Berman (CEO of Schoos Design) and Jay Handal and Devon Wheeler (founders of the Erba dispensary chain), praised the city for its West Hollywood salons.

“These guys are so open-minded here at WeHo, so let them use them,” said Harrelson, who also visited and toured the space when it was the design studio at Schoos. The rear area includes lush vegetation and a shy lake. I was just saying, ‘Wow, I love this place. I love where it is. “So I decided to do this,” Harrelson said.

While Woods has a range of cannabis brands, he focuses on organic, Californian, and sun-dried varieties based on the preferences of their famous owner. “I’m a big believer in coming out of the sun,” explains the actor. “The drug war forced him to [growers] Inside and you know, that’s good. I call this chemical weeds and it also led to the use of large amounts of fertilizers and artificial lighting etc. And I feel like we don’t need that anymore. We won the war on drugs here in California because of this plant. Let’s get him where he belongs. He really wants to be outside or even in the greenhouse, but let him get some real sunshine. Of course, the quality is much better. ”

As for what he calls chemical weeds, which he says are strains that increase THC levels even more, “that just spoil you.” And it’s like, “Why do I need this?” I only have one chance? I’m done now.”

Harrelson isn’t the only Hollywood player in the cannabis legal space. According to the Los Angeles Times, there are two more consumer lounges in West Hollywood, one backed by Jay-Z and the other by Patricia Arquette as an investor. A host of stars who have created their own marijuana brands include Seth Rogen, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Wiz Khalifa and Melissa Etheridge.

Harrelson account THR He also wants to create his own brand. “I have a very specific approach. I don’t want to get too deep into this, but I definitely want to do everything I can to encourage grass to grow in the sun.”

Tonight at the Ricardo Montalbán Theater in Hollywood, the actor will receive the Willie Nelson Life Achievement Award, part of the 18th Annual Emerald Cup Awards for his longtime legalization activism. The event honors the best cannabis suppliers in categories such as pre-roll, flower, dispenser, organic packaging and food.

For Harrelson, who was arrested in 1996 for planting four cannabis seeds in protest against a Kentucky law that combined marijuana and industrial cannabis, the legalization movement goes much deeper than he could have imagined.

“It’s kind of exciting because, to be honest, I never thought it would get to this point,” Harrelson told the LA Weekly last month. “I never thought you were there where it was cool, especially since you could walk out of the store. So it’s pretty exciting.”