Image by Anya Ulinich

(JTA) — The Lowell Cafe in Los Angeles is set to make history in Los Angeles as the country’s first cannabis lounge. The West Hollywood Business License Commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow it to open next month.

According to the Los Angeles Times, customers will sit outside, surrounded by “lush greenery,” and be served by a “cannabis sommelier.”

Rabbi Denise Eger, who heads Congregation Kol Ami — an LGBTQ-friendly Reform synagogue across the street of the proposed cafe — isn’t excited. She said some of her congregants are enrolled in 12-Step programs and others could get a “contact high” on the way to synagogue.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“The business is to have outdoor space for smoking pot — and I don’t know why my congregation members and participants have to walk through clouds of marijuana to get to synagogue. It will limit the use of our outdoor space as well because of the contact high from the smoke that will waft in the area,” Eger wrote in a letter to city council members.

The cafe’s creators say they have addressed the kinds of concerns raised by Eger by installing a special HVAC system to remove the smoke smells from the air. They have additionally promised to encircle the smoking area with “fragrant” and “odor-absorbing” plants.

In 2015, Eger became the first openly gay person to head the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the largest organization of Reform rabbis in the U.S.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount