When I reflect on my time living in Los Angeles, I think how this place has shaped and molded me in ways my former self could never anticipate. Living in LA has made me more compassionate and helped me view the world with an open mind and open heart. Living in LA has helped me appreciate other cultures, especially through food. The beauty of living in LA are the daily surprises, the ones that make you think in ways you may have not thought possible. This is what the Museum of Weed did for me.

Tonight on the corner of Cahuuenga in Hollywood a big green carpet greeted guests. Hundreds of people swarmed inside for the private grand opening of the Weed Museum by Weedmaps (a leading technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry that was founded in 2008). Stars like Vanessa Hudgens, Ireland Baldwin, Christina Milian, Ashlee Simpson, Evan Ross, Tommy Chong, and Gilles Marini flocked to this pop-up, which was like no other pop-up museum we have experienced in LA. Not just for Instagram-worthy photos, the 30,000 square foot museum is highly educational and offers interactive exhibits, impressive art installations, and historical evidence (ancient papyrus, films, artifacts, posters, art, dictionaries), plus a café and gift shop.

Guests meandered through the engaging multi-room exhibit with a state of the art Plant Lab and were entertained with a muscial performance by Mustard.  While no weed can be smoked or sold at the Museum, there was a “munchie chic” menu courtesy of Crateful, along with cookies from the Milk Bar and build your own ice cream cookie sandwiches from Coolhaus.

The focus of the Weed Museum is on demystifying cannabis and educating the public on the history and advocacy of cannabis. Weave your way past several hours of engaging exhibits with historical artifacts which include: Pre-Prohibition, Age of Madness, Counterculture Revolution, Behind Closed Doors, Entrapment, Dose of Compassion, Legalization and The Plant Lab. We heard a VICE writer helped with the curation and writing of the exhibit.

The museum aims to shed light on the tie between cannabis prohibition and racially disparate policies in hopes of educating people in a fun and interactive way, while inspiring them to support advocacy and reform efforts. Weedmaps CEO Chris  Beals said, “Today in the United States, someone is arrested for non-violent possession of cannabis every 48 seconds. Our goal with the Weedmaps Museum of Weed is to demystify cannabis and its role in society, and to draw attention to the impact prohibition of cannabis has had on various social groups in the U.S. and beyond.”

Open to the public this August 3, 2019, for a few months, the exhibit sounds like it will make its way to NYC next. You can easily spend a couple hours here, but don’t expect to be able to buy or consume cannabis inside the museum.