There’s A Marijuana Coffee Shop In Jo’burg

They don't call Jozi the Big Smoke for nothing, and now there's a coffee shop that allows you to really unwind. That's if you can find it, of course.

Jasmine Stone
Health, Johannesburg, Lifestyle, marijuana, South Africa, Vibe

Some people love to post their morning coffee memes (don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee, lolz), but pop a picture of a zol up and you’ll probably get a different reaction.

Maybe the tide is turning, though, because up in the Big Smoke there’s a cannabis coffee shop trading in the open.

Well almost, because when Times LIVE went to visit they had to keep a few details on the down low.

The owner doesn’t give his full name, for example, going by Frank L, and they’re not openly advertising their services to the man on the street:

The signs are neon but he’s kept the name cryptic, revealing enough for customers and vague enough for his detractors not to notice, he believes…

Legal cannabis use in South Africa is still contested. The Western Cape High Court ruled in March that private use and private cultivation of cannabis in someone’s own home is constitutionally legal. Parliament, however, is still to amend the law…

Reality, as Frank L sees it, is reflected in the fact that in the first month he’s had more than 1,300 people through his doors – it’s literally a growth industry, he figures.

“People just want a place where they smoke that’s a social, chilled, safe space,” says Frank relaxing in the shaded garden.

On the menu are offerings called bliss, pineapple, honeycomb and boss cheese. They’re names for weed that have price tags of between R180 and R800 a gram – a favourite is boss cheese. Dagga dabs, compressed dagga oil smoked with a rig that creates a vaping effect, is also popular and so are his dagga muffins.

The confectionery is such a hit, Frank L jokes that he should open an on-site bakery.

Boss cheese, hey? Nice.

Let’s just hope the dagga muffins aren’t those overpowering ones that leave one glued to the floor.

If you’ve ever been to Amsterdam the decor might seem familiar:

Inside his establishment the floors are painted like a kiddies’ road-safety traffic park, only the signboards say “Red Light District” and the table tops are decorated in a cannabis theme. There’s a pool table, popcorn machines and a food counter. There’s also a counter displaying smoking paraphernalia.

On the darkened loft floor there are sofas and bean bags; UV lights turn coils of rising dagga smoke into the tangle of live serpents on Medusa’s head.

“There are never fights or anything like that,” says one patron, his lids drooping as he sags back into the sofa, and his high.

It’s not just your stereotypical goefball that pops by, either, because Frank claims to have a few high flyers too:

His patrons include a judge, politically connected elite and stockbrokers. There are also students, businessmen on extended lunch breaks and those looking for cannabis to ease medical maladies.

“South Africans have needed a cannabis coffee shop culture for years. This café is just the beginning,” says Frank L, who’s already plotting a second café. The green revolution is coming, it can’t grow in the dark forever.

Vive la révolution, people!

Good luck, Frank L.

[source:timeslive]

There’s A Marijuana Coffee Shop In Jo’burg

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