One might be forgiven elsewhere in the country for thinking of weed smokers in prototypical terms, couchlocked and snackish, dazed day to day. But here in California, where marijuana has been a source of public debate and policy for years, it becomes clear there’s no single type of cannabis consumer. From grandmas doing monster dabs on Youtube to patients with chronic pain, the face of pot has changed dramatically over the past decade.
So it seems inevitable we get Weedrave, a 12 hour rave for the self-professed stoners among us. Founded by Michelle Lhooq, a journalist with bylines at the L.A. Times and GQ Magazine and a book about weed due out on Random House next spring, the 12 hour event featured panels, rooftop yoga, CBD tonics, a dab bar, THC gummy samples, and a free pre-roll and bite-size edible with the purchase of a ticket. Performing DJs included False Witness, Kosmik, Mesmé, and Kokonut, among others.
An initial panel pondered the parallels between the war on drugs and the policing of sex workers; it was followed by one contemplating the relationship between social media influencers and cannabis culture. Panelists and attendees alike were lighting up joints the entire time; approximately 27 minutes after we arrived, I turned to a fellow attendee and inquired if she, too, was catching a contact high (and indeed, she was).
While the price point may give some pause ($20 at first presale, ramping up to $50 day-of), when considering the cost and logistics behind renting out a warehouse for 12 hours, providing marijuana for over a hundred attendees, and nine different DJs spinning tracks, the cost seems significantly more reasonable; I’ve paid $20 to go to parties that didn’t offer me a single crumb of marijuana. At the end of the day, Weed Rave isn’t competing with conventions, but with other nightlife options: bars that are free to enter, clubs with $5-20 covers. And to be sure, you could certainly approximate the effect with a little cash at a dispensary and an advance ticket to a DJ showcase in the Arts District at roughly the same price point.
But what made the night special was believing everyone else was on the same page. Those who prefer lighting a blunt to taking a shot, often relegated to the fringe of a houseparty, were now the sole attendees; there was yoga under the “super blood wolf moon” and blue dream incense in the air.
Whether this is an accurate vision of the future remains to be seen. While alcohol is definitely bad for you, I don’t think you can necessarily say weed is unilaterally good for you, though many find it a useful medication. There are practical logistics to sort as well; until regulations around the sale of cannabis loosen up, having to bring your own supply to keep the night going is a definite turnoff. That being said, Weedrave sketches a blueprint for what the near-future of nightlife will look like in states that have legalized marijuana. A bunch of twentysomethings raving to club music while sparking up is nothing new, but the social acceptability of doing so is.
One last piece of advice: it’s probably better to Uber than drive. While designated drivers can easily abstain at an alcohol bar, a friend who planned to stay sober at Weedrave quickly caught a contact high. The subsequent 10mg THC gummy she took had her in sunglasses well after sundown; here are some of the photos Ampersand captured over the course of the night.
(Photos by Laurie Maemura, Text by Vivian Medithi)
