Hightimes will re-open shuttered WeHo cannabis consumption lounge

Hightimes, the cannabis brand and parent company of High Times magazine, will reopen a former consumption lounge in West Hollywood.

The Business License Commission on Tuesday greenlit a partial transfer of one of the city’s limited cannabis consumption area licenses into Hightimes’ ownership.

The license was originally granted in 2019 to Flore Flora, at the time the nation’s first full-service cannabis consumption lounge, according to the staff report. Flore Flora closed in March 2020, when all non-essential businesses were shut down at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, and never reopened.  

Ownership of Flore Flora changed by 26.27 percent between 2019 and 2020, but the city’s labyrinthine rules regarding cannabis businesses forced the company to request a variance from the Business License Commission to transfer an additional ​58.73 percent of the company, the maximum allowed under the variance process for a business that has not been in continual operation for two years. 

The process of transferring ownership of cannabis business licenses has been criticized by some in the community because it disadvantages those who applied for licenses when they were originally offered but were not selected.

The current owners and Hightimes intend to re-open the establishment as it was at the time of closure, except for changes in furniture and lighting. 

“This is our backyard,”  CEO Paul Henderson told the Commission about his company’s first foray into cannabis sales. “Historically, we explain that we connect consumers with brands, right? So it was on the pages of the magazines. Then it was at events where people actually explore and understand new movements in cannabis and strains and growing and vape pens and everything. And so now we do that in a retail format. And we’re very excited about this because this is the first move into consumption lounges. And so it’s a little bit of a different form. But it’s really sales of cannabis. It’s what we know best. Our brand I think is going to do the city proud.”

The owners were questioned about a set of civil lawsuits but ultimately the commissioners were convinced that the project was in good hands. They approved the variance with a caveat that the company return before the Commission in six months for a review of procedures and any complaints.

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