IndustryLifestyle Can The Standard Hotel Really Open a Cannabis Shop in Its Lobby? Bruce Barcott November 17, 2017 Share Twitter Facebook Share Print

Less than 24 hours after California’s Board of Cannabis Control released the state’s cannabis regulations, The Standard Hotel has announced the coming of the world’s first hotel lobby cannabis shop.

“The Standard and Lord Jones, makers of the world’s finest cannabis and CBD infused products, today announce a multifaceted brand partnership, which includes the opening of the nation’s first cannabis retail location inside of a hotel,” said a media release that came across the Leafly news desk this morning. “Lord Jones plans to launch its retail flagship within The Standard, Hollywood, in early 2018*.”

That asterisk there? It’s important. It reminds fine-print readers that the hotel lobby boutique is “subject to approval from regulatory authorities in California.” In other words, Lord Jones will have to obtain a California cannabis license before opening the doors. And that won’t be an easy task for anyone.

After consulting the hundreds of pages of regulations issued yesterday, our news team could find no specific reg that prohibits a hotel from opening a cannabis boutique within its lobby. The Standard Hollywood, located on LA’s Sunset Strip, is about a half-mile from the nearest school, which is more than legally adequate, although we don’t know if there’s a daycare nearby that might disqualify the location. And of course, the site would still need to obtain authorization from the city.

It’s not a bad idea, though. With its aggressively hip design and Sunset Strip location, The Standard seems a perfect location for the world’s first hotel cannabis shop. Pick up a little something in the lobby, head up to the hotel’s famous blue astroturf pool deck, and enjoy California’s finest product with some friends in the toasty sunshine. Or use the pool deck to host one of Lord Jones’s sound bath events.

Let us know when you get the license, The Standard. We’ll be there for the grand opening.

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Bruce Barcott Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America. View Bruce Barcott's articles