Actor and activist Woody Harrelson has been a proponent for the legalization of marijuana and hemp, long before it gained the support of many elected officials and skeptical citizens.
So it seems fitting that the Cheers star would be on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the grand opening of The Woods WeHo retail cannabis dispensary on Friday in West Hollywood.
In fact, it was Harrelson himself who helped cut the ribbon as a symbol that the establishment, located at 8271 Santa Monica Boulevard, is open for business.
Dressed in a blue-patterned shirt and tan slacks, Harrelson, 60, shared the scissors during the ceremony with West Hollywood Mayor Lauren Meister.
Council member Lindsey Horvath and West Hollywood Chamber CEO, Genevieve Morrill were also among those who attended the event, along with Harrelson’s wife Laura Harrelson and friend/actor Steve Guttenberg.
Keith Kaplan, Immediate Past Chair of the WeHo Chamber, presented Harrelson with a framed one dollar bill for good luck, which is a WeHo Chamber tradition.
‘Hopefully we’ve added more beauty and more good times here,’ Harrelson told crowd that packed onto the sidewalk on Santa Monica Blvd. just before The Woods officially opened its doors, as reported by WeHo Times.
‘Hopefully we can help make the West Hollywood citizens a little bit higher.’
Harrelson founded The Woods WeHo with ERBA co-founders Devon Wheeler and Jay Handal, political commentator Bill Maher, interior designer Thomas Schoos, and Schoos Design Chief Executive Michael Berman.
Located between high-end eateries and shopping centers, the establishment, an 8,000 square foot space, consists of an indoor retail space that sells an array of premium organic, sun-grown, California herb.
‘We are so excited to have The Woods open,’ Morrill shared during the festivities. ‘It’s an amazing design and Thomas Schoos has been an amazing asset to the city for so long in West Hollywood. It’s a perfect venue.’
Over the years, Harrelson has been one fo the vocal supporters and users of cannabis and hemp.
Back in 1996, he was arrested in Lee County, Kentucky for symbolically planting four hemp seeds to challenge the state law that did not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana.
Fast forward 26 years, and the acclaimed actor never thought he would see the day when marijuana and hemp could be viable commodities that are legally produced and sold.
‘There’s no way,’ he said. ‘It’s like war. If it weren’t lucrative, there wouldn’t be so much of it. And it’s no exception to say that the war on non-corporate drugs is extremely lucrative. So I did not think it would ever be allowed. Of course, the government still gets their cut and maybe actually they get more than they ever did now.’
