Weed Week: The first cannabis cafe just opened in the US, complete with resident ‘flower hosts’

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Kicking back at your favourite cafe and smoking a joint is an activity historically associated with pot-friendly cities such as Amsterdam.

But as of this week, that right has now been extended to US citizens with the grand opening of America’s first cannabis cafe in California.

Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe opened in West Hollywood on Tuesday, offering a range of pot-related delicacies and a menu of farm-sourced comfort food.

The cafe is an offshoot of cannabis distribution company Lowell Herb Co, which was founded in 2017 and has a sales network of more than 300 pot shops.

The product range will include vapes and marijuana edibles, along with a range of cannabis varieties that can be smoked using joints, or a collection of pipes and bongs available for rent on site.

As an added touch, Lowell Farms’ service offering will include “flower hosts” — effectively a weed sommelier — on hand to provide guidance and product suggestions. The cafe has backing from a star-studded group of investors including Miley Cyrus and Chris Rock.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, patrons are currently being asked to respect a two-hour time limit for table hire. Although perhaps not surprisingly, the early evidence suggests some customers have been loath to move too fast after partaking in the produce on offer.

Back on domestic shores, and there was some brief fallout to the big news last week out of Canberra, where local lawmakers voted to legalise marijuana possession for personal use.

While the law was enacted under ACT legislation, there’s still a possibility it could be overturned by Commonwealth legislation if the federal government steps in.

Attorney-General Christian Porter indicated the Coalition government may do as much, calling the cannabis laws “a very bad idea”.

Back on the local market, it was a relatively subdued week for ASX pot stocks. Of the 33 companies tracked by Stockhead, 10 posted a weekly gain while 18 stocks finished in the red, and four were unchanged.

In line with the price fluctuations common to the sector, last week’s leader — Rhinomed (ASX: RNO) — came back off the boil.

The stock fell by eight per cent to partially offset the previous week’s 23 per cent gain, after announcing a new $6m capital raise and plans for a US expansion strategy.

Also losing traction last week was Suda Pharmaceuticals (ASX: SUD), which fell back 13 per cent for the week.

The stock is cannabis-adjacent — its main group of products are centred around oral mouth sprays but it has a feasibility with Zelda Therapeutics (ASX: ZLD) and has a permit to develop cannabinoid products for research purposes.

Stockhead’s resident analyst Tim Boreham recently ran the ruler over Suda’s prospects, and said the company has more potential than its penny-stock status would suggest although nailing down a long-term growth forecast is a difficult task.

Speaking of Zelda, the stock was one of last week’s better performers, posting a gain of 12 per cent on no news to bring its annual return to 19 per cent.

Below is Stockhead’s latest summary of weekly and annual price performance for ASX-listed cannabis stocks:

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.

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