The City of West Hollywood today released a list of the top-scoring applicants for cannabis licenses in five categories. Those applicants will be able to open and operate cannabis businesses in West Hollywood after finding a suitable location, getting the approval of the location from City Hall and the city’s Business License Commission and receiving a state license. Eight licenses were granted in each category, with some applicants receiving more than one license.

The city’s four existing medical cannabis dispensaries were not required to apply for a new license in that category. However Los Angeles Patients and Caregivers, a medical cannabis dispensary owned by Ovest LLC, applied for and won an additional license to sell edible cannabis products on site. And Zen Healing applied for and won a license to provide cannabis delivery services.

The Artist Tree was the only applicant to qualify for licenses in all five categories, which include recreational cannabis sales, medical cannabis sales, cannabis delivery, operation of a cannabis lounge offering edible products and operation of a lounge where cannabis smoking and vaping is permitted and edible products can be consumed. Its owners are Avi Kahan and Mitchell Kahan, brothers who control The Green Easy and Canto Diem dispensaries in Los Angeles and North Hollywood, respectively, and have minor stakes in California Compassionate Care Network (CCCN) and MMD.

Another major player in West Hollywood’s cannabis market is likely to be PDLP JV LLC, whose Greenwolf West Hollywood qualified for four licenses, which are in the medical and recreational sales categories and for operation of a smoking and vaping lounge and a delivery service.

Essence qualified for licenses in the recreational, smoking and vaping lounge and delivery categories. J&P Consulting’s Budberry qualified for recreational, edible consumption lounge and delivery service licenses. And Aeon qualified for three licenses in categories including recreational, medical and smoking and vaping lounges.

The failure of the city’s four existing medical cannabis dispensaries to qualify for recreational cannabis sales licenses was a major issue at Monday night’s City Council meeting. Representatives of those dispensaries appeared before the Council to support a proposal to increase the number of recreational licenses from eight to 10. A city staff report said that would allow two of the current medical dispensaries to qualify for a recreational license, however it did not identify those dispensaries by name. The City Council moved ahead with approving the existing license process and is likely to consider in January whether to offer recreational sales licenses that would benefit at least a few of the current medical businesses.

The people associated with the companies that qualified for cannabis licenses include some well-known local business owners and operators. Jason Illoulian, whose Faring is a major real estate developer, is a co-owner with Cobby Pourtavosi of Calma, which qualified for a recreational cannabis license and a delivery license.

Soheil Yamini, the owner of Pink Dot on Sunset, is one of the owners of Greenwolf, which qualified for a recreational cannabis license, a smoking, vaping and edible lounge license, a medical dispensary license and a delivery license. Greenwolf is described as being “an all-inclusive mecca for cannabis, gourmet upscale dining and must-see social life” that will be at 8535-8537 Sunset Blvd.

PleasureMed, another successful applicant for a recreational sales license, a smoking, vaping and edible consumption lounge license, a medical dispensary license and a delivery license, is owned by Brian Robinson, owner of the Pleasure Chest an adult entertainment retailer on Santa Monica Boulevard. Robinson proposes to locate the business in a now-shuttered building adjacent to Pleasure Chest at 7715 Santa Monica Blvd.

Flore West Hollywood, which qualified for a smoking, vaping and edible consumption lounge license, describes Renee Nahum as “the public face of Flore.” Nahum is known for her work as a political campaign manager.

Richard Lichtenstein is one of the owners of The Antidote, a proposed restaurant that qualified for an edible consumption license. Lichtenstein is the founder and president of Marathon Communications, a local public relations firm that has represented clients such as Townscape Partners, developers of the 8899 Beverly and 8150 Sunset projects.

Jackie Subeck is one of the owners of Door Number Six, which qualified for an edible consumption license. Subeck is a member of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and its governing affairs committee.

Dani Shaker, who served on the West Hollywood Eastside Working Group Committee, is the managing partner of Muthatree WeHo LLC, which qualified for an edible consumption lounge license.

The city received more than 300 license applications from 120 different applicants. Those applicants were screened by an independent panel appointed by the City Manager, which assessed them using a number of criteria including business experience, social equity and the proposed design of their businesses.

A city report offering a detailed description of each successful applicant can be found online. The full list of categories and the top-ranked applicants are:

Adult-Use (Recreational) Retail

• Aeon West Hollywood, Inc. (Aeon)

• The Artist Tree, LLC (The Artist Tree)

• CALMA Weho LLC (CALMA)

• Essence Weho LLC (Essence)

• J&P Consulting (Budberry)

• PDLP JV LLC (Greenwolf West Hollywood)

• Pleasure Med, LLC (Pleasure Med)

• Redwood Retail, LLC (Lord Jones)

Consumption Lounges (Smoking Vaping, Edibles)

• Aeon West Hollywood, Inc. (Aeon)

• The Artist Tree, LLC (The Artist Tree)

• Essence Weho, LLC (Essence)

• Flore Flora, LLC (Flore)

• HAH 10, LLC (Have a Heart)

• PDLP JV, LLC (Greenwolf West Hollywood)

• Pleasure Med, LLC (Pleasure Med)

• Vanguard Concepts, LLC (Chroma)

Consumption Lounges (Edibles Only)

• The Antidote Restaurant (The Antidote)

• The Artist Tree, LLC (The Artist Tree)

• ASHE Society, LLC

• Door Number Six, LLC

• J&P Consulting (Budberry)

• Muthatree, LLC (Muthatree)

• Ovest, LLC (Los Angeles Patients and Caregivers)

• Where Eagles Fly, LLC (The Fantom Flower)

West Hollywood-Based Delivery Services

• The Artist Tree, LLC (The Artist Tree)

• CALMA Weho, LLC (CALMA)

• Essence Weho, LLC (Essence)

• J&P Consulting (Budberry)

• PDLP JV, LLC (Greenwolf West Hollywood)

• Pleasure Med, LLC (Pleasure Med)

• Redwood Retail, LLC (Lord Jones)

• Zen Healing Collective Corporation (Zen Healing)

Medical Cannabis Dispensaries

(The Medical Dispensary category only includes four new licenses because the existing four medical dispensaries in West Hollywood did not need to go through the screening application process to apply for a medical license).

• Aeon West Hollywood, Inc. (Aeon)

• The Artist Tree, LLC (The Artist Tree)

• Pleasure Med, LLC (Pleasure Med)

• PDLP JV LLC (Greenwolf West Hollywood)