The cannabis industry has stumbled its fair share in the past years, although for loyal customers and casual users alike, the overall culture surrounding consumption still retains both vitality and surprise in healthy doses. There’s plenty to still celebrate, including new ways (portable hitters, laser bongs) and numerous places with favorable laws to partake. Here’s our picks for this year.
Conspicuous Consumption
The average fantasy for someone who’s never been to Amsterdam but wishes to go, is a lot like being at The Artist Tree. This consumption lounge in West Hollywood is covered with art and murals hither and yon, and of the kind that grows on you the longer you spend inside the place. Each guest gets a menu served to them on an iPad, and this covers not just top-tier oil and flower products, but also cool smoking vessels you can rent. There’s a cozy bar and library stocked with fancy bongs (and of course, alcohol) and a stage set aside for entertainment that’s different each night. Doesn’t matter what time you go though—you’ll be in for a very new and unique experience smoking pot with friends in a public space intended for just that end.
The Artist Tree was created by Aviv Hamimi, Lauren Fontein, and brothers Mitchell Kahan and Avi Kahan. This group also owns other retail locations in LA and Riverside County, with more to open in the next one year. The Artist Tree also boasts a Cultivation Learning Center, as well as a retail store staffed with guides whose job includes selecting the finest weed for your needs. Tree stands out in that it was the earliest business applicant to become eligible for all five categories under West Hollywood’s cannabis licenses— “recreational cannabis sales, medical cannabis sales, cannabis delivery, operation of a cannabis lounge offering edible products, and operation of a lounge where cannabis smoking and vaping is permitted and edible products can be consumed.” There are many events to elevate the locale’s profile, such as DJs and meet-and-greets.
Flower Power
Sun + Earth certified brands distinguish themselves by being responsibly, holistically, and regeneratively grown, and are displayed as highlights at Woody Harrelson’s theWoods, which is a superbly designed dispensary that’s recently started its new consumption lounge in the area. Even Flowerhead.co’s offerings include Sun + Earth brands, and this new web destination for weed could very well be addictive if you’re in awe of online cannabis—after all, shopping on a screen and smoking out go well when done simultaneously. Angeleno musician John Gold’s style-minded marketplace emphasizes “highly curated” packaged flower brands, as well as high-end accessories. The site even offers deeper details into its products than you’re likely to see elsewhere, alongside easy product navigation and discovery, modern search tools, and branded content. Gold has also collaborated on creating a hand-selected guide using his favorite gear.
California Love
Tradecraft Farms is the family-driven company through and through, and inspired by that fact, touts an approach to weed that’s best described as “personal”. Brent and Barry Walker own this Southern California company, which had its birth in Downtown LA. They handle everything from cultivation to retail, taking an educational approach when it comes to their goods as well as others which they sell in their stores. The store grows hydroponic indoor, citing the reason for this as “precision” and removing fickle variables when it comes to the growing process. Their products, whether jars or pre rolls or anything in between, are infused with a cool-and-casual vibe meant for discerning smokers to latch on to when they come shopping. Tradecraft isn’t the only thing keeping the Walker brothers busy either—they own the Stick.E.Vapes brand, the Better Days Farms blends, and a few Cali Roots dispensaries. And then there’s also a number of local charitable efforts they cater to.
Laser Force
A lot has transpired in the world of weed since the Graffix plastic bong days. Now we have numerous smoking-device types to pick from, most designed to deliver smoke efficiently and in the most enjoyable ways the makers can manage. One brand that’s on the forefront in that regard is Hitoki, thanks to its innovative laser smoking devices. The Hitoki Trident scored big on the market, and now the company has come up with something even better—the Hitoki Saber. It’s basically a more compact take on the laser combustion device the brand is known for, and boasts a clean smoking experience. All you have to do is add water to the bubbler, attach it to the unit’s base, and smoke away.
Taste the Rainbow
Many would have their minds jump to The Perfect Companion when asked about a compact pipe they can carry in a purse or pocket. This 5-Piece Micropipe Set is both adorable and compact, and comes in a rainbow collection of colors to suit the preferences of compulsive matchers. The cig-sized individual hitter is slim, and can offer a 75mg dose, which translates to around 3 or 4 tokes per bowl. This is perfect for both microdosers and germaphobes. This company also sells joints of the kind you can cut in half, so that you’re not stuck sucking on that one wet doobie (COVID is still a real thing). The makers suggest that you match the colors with the varied blends.
Rock n’ Roll
Laganja Estranja, Wayne Coyne, Tommy Chong, and Wiz Khalifa (among others), have given their insights towards the famous book, How We Roll: The Art and Culture of Joints, Blunts, and Spliffs. This tome explores how rolling works around the world, and offers tricks and tips to follow when it comes to rolling the perfect joint. It covers everything with interviews, illustrations, charts, quizzes, dos and don’ts, techniques, descriptions, and diagrams. That means once you’ve imbibed the wisdom in here, the day is not far when you start rolling like Snoop Dogg’s personal “handyman”.
