Woody Harrelson Talks Cannabis At The Woods Dispensary Opening

Actor and lifelong environmentalist Woody Harrelson has opened the doorways of his dispensary in West Hollywood, California, referred to as The Woods.

The grand opening on Might 13, 2022, included visitors Invoice Maher, Steven Gutenberg, and Harrelson dancing on a desk to have fun the night. The dispensary was redesigned over two years by architect Thomas Schoos. The house is inexperienced and woodsy— true to its title—with bushes on the inside, skylights, wood shows, and an out of doors house that Harrelson hopes shall be a consumption lounge within the close to future. A ribbon-cutting ceremony drew crowds together with Mayor Lauren Meister and Genevieve Morrill, the top of West Hollywood’s chamber of commerce. West Hollywood has been notably welcoming to hashish companies and even not too long ago dubbed itself The Emerald Village.

Harrelson’s cannabis-centric weekend culminated when he was the recipient of The Emerald Cup’s Lifetime Achievement Award on the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre. In its 18th 12 months, the 2022 Emerald Cup awards honored fan-favorite manufacturers, legendary cultivators innovating within the house, and second-generation, legacy farmers from Humboldt and the Mendocino County areas, together with Huckleberry Hill Farms amongst others. “It’s unbelievable,” Harrelson mentioned at his acceptance speech. “Who knew a lifetime of smoking pot may get you this?”

I spoke with Harrelson about his brand-new weed storefront, Hollywood embracing the hashish trade, and what he hopes the legalization motion will appear to be sooner or later.

How does it really feel to lastly see your dispensary, The Woods’ house come to life?

Woody Harrelson: Nicely, I assumed it was lovely after I visited it, simply the house itself was beautiful on the time. I figured you can take out this desk, change this. No, the whole lot went out. We redesigned it from the ground-up. The partitions have been taken all the way down to the rafters. So it took some time, it took a pair years. I by no means envisioned it as lovely as it’s, the architect Thomas Schoos helped loads with it. Yeah, I simply like it.

The outside house behind the dispensary is so distinctive and so plant-filled. Do you have got hopes for this house to be a consumption space?

Sure, it’s meant to be. I’m hoping that each one involves fruition. I’m pondering it is going to take slightly longer earlier than that occurs, however we’re relying on that being a consumption space.

West Hollywood is a path blazer for consumption lounges, I hope it will get accepted.

We do have the consumption license in course of proper now. I believe we simply must get a stamp or one thing, and it shouldn’t take greater than 2 or 3 years.

How do you’re feeling Hollywood has embraced hashish? Is it one thing you stored separate out of your performing profession, or felt such as you wanted to attend to embrace?

I haven’t made a secret of my fondness for the medicinal magical goddess plant, however my enterprise companions Devon Wheeler, and Jay Handal, have been having nice success with Erba, Jay has just a few dispensaries. He was at all times making an attempt get me to hitch him. I used to be like, ‘I don’t know, it appears too dicey, what if the feds change their minds?’

Finally, I noticed, the genie’s out of the bottle and it’s going to be reliable. Jay discovered that house and we went and checked out it and I used to be like, ‘holy shit, that is lovely.’

How does it really feel to be inside and witnessing hashish historical past unfolding?

It feels unimaginable as a result of, I at all times mentioned, so long as the Warfare on Medicine, or non-corporate medication, is so profitable for thus many, it’s simply not going to alter. However positively, the federal government will get their chew—and it’s a giant previous chew—of the income, so I believe the tax cash has pacified that.

What do you suppose is the most effective movie of yours to look at whereas excessive?

Nicely, in all probability Surfer Dude with me and Matthew McConaughey. I hope he involves The Woods eventually, he doesn’t puff loads. However I believe he’ll just like the house.

The place do you see the hashish trade in 5 years?

I’d like to see it have federal legalization. Really, it ought to be decriminalized fully. As a result of I don’t understand how the federal government will get to regulate it, you already know? I can perceive with one thing like alcohol, perhaps. This plant doesn’t kill you, god is aware of I’ve tried. You may smoke 45 kilos in every week and also you’re nonetheless going to be fantastic.

I wish to see the legal guidelines change. Proper now, it’s a schedule 1 drug, such as you’re taking meth or one thing. It’s absurd. The overwhelming majority of individuals suppose it ought to be authorized. So hopefully that can occur. The trade will continue to grow. The one concern I’ve is that it doesn’t grow to be mass corporatized or industrialized, that it retains its natural nature. Not simply in the true sense, however within the figurative sense, that it stays mother and pop. When mother and pop’s flip into industrial issues, it’s by no means snug.

Does The Woods characteristic sure manufacturers or prefer to characteristic craft growers?

Oh yeah. I actually needed to embrace the Emerald Triangle as a lot as attainable. There are lots of people doing nice work. I don’t just like the indoor herb as a lot, chem weed I name it. That’s simply not the way in which to go. To me, the outside, sun-drenched, sun-soaked, natural weed, hopefully, would be the future.