I have a birthday coming up in a couple weeks. It’s a big one in the same way that all birthdays are big after the age of 30. But I’m doing things differently this year: Rather than a boozy dinner or a rowdy bar crawl with friends, I’m going full green with a dinner at Lowell Farms, a dining + cannabis cafe with a farm-to-table menu created by Chef Andrea Drummer. I plan on feasting like an animal in a setting where it’s chill to publicly puff down a pre-rolled joint of watermelon sour.

Terpenes and chill culinary experiences. I can’t wait.

Legal recreational marijuana in California is resulting in some truly mesmerizing cannabis experiences. Gone are the days with sketchy dispensaries dishing out bud filled with who-knows-what from who-knows-where. These days, a trip to a dispensary is an adventure in-of-itself, from the variety of edibles, flower strains, and vape carts, in vibrant settings optimized for marijuana aficionados from all walks of life.

For example: The High Note. It’s touted as “a design-minded dispensary.” There are two locations in LA: East LA and Culver City.

The High Note dispensary experience is more like cozying up to a library filled with rich mahogany and leather-bound books vs. hole-in-the-wall where you get a cheap eighth. It’s a sleek, elegant speakeasy, complete with hidden doors and a friendly, knowledge staff. There are in-store promos from cannabis brands like Sunday Goods and rewards programs for discounts the more you keep coming back.

Unlike other dispensaries around Southern California, you want to hang out a while, not just grab and go from a budtender that doesn’t give AF about your experience.

In addition to strains from all over Cali, there’s a “secret” library door via a bookshelf in the front, after checking in. It’s a fitting nod to cannabis prohibition in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape about marijuana.

The High Note East LA

5359 Valley Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90032

Monday-Saturday: 10am – 10pm

Sunday: 10am – 8pm

The High Note Culver City

5277 W Jefferson Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90016

Monday-Saturday: 10am – 10pm