Will the House of Cannabis be New York's next must-see attraction?

April 7, 2023

Will the House of Cannabis be New York’s next must-see attraction?

Having lived in New York City for the past 13 years, I’ve seen the city evolve. The development of the five districts, or at least some components, is happening much faster than some might think. One of those rapidly changing landscapes has been the cannabis scene.

The city continues to embrace the plant in all its forms, unless you’re an unlicensed business. The city’s mostly warm welcome certainly stems from its share of advocates of social justice and restorative justice. But a significant chunk of support comes from those who see the revenue from legalization. Sales are only a part of what cannabis can bring to the city and state. Tourism is already booming, with a glut of underground events and places to hang out. Legal experiences are also taking shape, not just in one-off or pop-up varieties.

The House of Cannabis (THC NYC), a three-story immersive cannabis experience, is set to become the city’s next tourist attraction. Occupying 30,000 square feet of a historic building overlooking SoHo, THC NYC is the joint creation of Las Vegas nightclub leader Robert Frey, co-founder Marcelle Frey and creative director Dan Kough.

I was invited to view the site prior to the April 7th launch. Having lived in New York all these years, I was excited to find out if The House of Cannabis would be another groundbreaking tourist exhibit or if it could become the city’s next unique attraction.

Would tourists in the city start to see cannabis as a must? And more importantly, would this appeal to the cannabis community? There’s only one way to find out.

What to expect at the House of Cannabis

The first thing that struck me about The House of Cannabis was that its signature was loud and proud on the first floor of the building. Like many unlicensed cannabis stores, this was another example of New York stepping out of the cannabis cabinet in full force. One small downside that struck me as soon as I walked in was that THC NYC is not on the first floor. Instead, a five-story climb was required to begin the journey. There may have been an elevator but I was told to go up.

Attention pot enthusiasts, weed is not sold at THC NYC, nor is consumption permitted. So make sure to smoke before you go inside.

Kough, a seven-year veteran at Disney and decades in the entertainment industry, led the project’s design. Working in a historic building, he and the creative team were tasked with designing an immersive experience that didn’t interfere with the historic walls or building structure. To do this, the team built the walls of THC NYC within the historic framework without touching the existing walls of the structure.

“So we decided to build the building within the building,” explains Kough. He added that the solution helped make an impact on guests.

From there, the crew spent months compiling images for the guests. They also created an eye-catching reminder for people walking by at night. The exterior hallway walls are painted in a pot of lime green and are lit by matching lights each night, creating an ever-luminous green presence through the windows.

The journey starts

Spread over three floors, the first stop on the tour is The Disorientation Room, where you’ll be surrounded by vibrant greenery while media is played on a giant projector, spanning the plant’s long history and its impact on culture. At this point, my persistent thought begins to take shape: I wish I had taken psychedelics before coming here.

In the next room, the craving for psychedelics was growing stronger. As we enter the Euphorium, guests encounter a giant rotating vinyl record while LED lights above pulse to the tunes of a silent disco. Guests are encouraged to sit or lie down on the rotating record while listening to the silent disco. This room made me apprehensive about what lay ahead. While it might be a fun experience for some, I felt like a piece of rotisserie looking up at the ceiling as it slowly spins. But maybe that’s just me. Thankfully, that was the only time I felt doubtful about the experience.

The later rooms on the upper floor deal with the social and penal impact that the work has had in recent years. The forum, led by the Drug Policy Alliance, uses elegant audio techniques to highlight the impact of the drug wars on five different people. When you’re under sonic cones, you’ll hear the person’s account first-hand. As they emerge from under the cones, their stories blend to depict the collective impact of the drug war on society.

“They are real people telling real stories about how cannabis laws affect them,” Kough said.

The last room on the floor was The Joint, covering the world of sneakers. The group brought with them works from a recent Culver City, California art exhibit, The Art of Sneakers, which features a range of artists using sneakers in various unique ways. Artists featured in The House of Cannabis include Freehand Profit, Christophe Roberts and many more.

Kough said the plan is to show art for six months before introducing a new exhibition for the space.

The Plant – A 6000 Year Journey

The trip down to the third floor brings visitors to an up-close growing experience, or at least that’s the plan when it kicks off. Once the venue officially opens to the public, the space will feature a three-room urban annex to give visitors a first look at pot growing. There were no mature plants or seedlings during the tour.

Plant education continues in The Microverse, where photographer Chris Romaine of Kandid Kush takes visitors deep into the plant with stunning photographs. Olfactory is where we learn about terpenes. Featuring six of the most common sensations associated with cannabis – lost, laughter, energy, sleep, creativity and calm – guests are surrounded by the colors and aromas associated with each connection. To experience more, guests can press a button to inhale the aroma of a terpene. It was not set up that day, but a fold-down curtain is expected to be installed, allowing for an additional immersion in the scent of a terpene. Completing the room were additional artwork, including a several-foot-tall nug dangling from the center of the room.

The last stop on this floor was a collaboration with hip hop musician Curren$y. A custom poem by the artist is projected onto an LED screen where guests can step onto the screen and see the words wrapped around them.

Kough said it’s important to “celebrate the poetry of cannabis in our lives” and make guests feel like they’ve become part of the artist’s words.

The Journey of Crescendos

The final floor of the journey at The House of Cannabis includes only two stops, but is likely to be a crowd puller. Those are certainly two places I’d like to be when the mushrooms kick in.

The Spot is a massive green tree installation with roots running across the floor serving as seats and tables.

“The great thing about cannabis is the sense of community it naturally creates,” said Kough.

For me, The Spot took me back to my kindergarten days, when we would all gather under the tree during recess and play tag. Until we discovered that a bunch of invasive moths had taken over the tree. Luckily no moths were seen in the House of Cannabis.

The last stop of the tour is the hypnodrome. Created by visual artist, composer and programmer Benjamin Gordon, guests recline on plush lounge chairs while a psychedelic video of Gordon’s brainwaves unfolds on the ceiling and walls around them. The AI based art exhibit was the most psychedelic space and the place I’m most likely to want to be during a psychedelic experience.

Will the House of Cannabis in New York last?

Overall, THC NYC was a fun and educational experience. If you already know enough about cannabis, none of the information presented is new information. But this is the kind of place where veteran pot fans can take their friends for a day to remember. They might even learn a little about cultivation, culture, criminal justice, and how the plant affects us.

“It celebrates cannabis culture and invites people in,” Kough said of the experience. He added that THC NYC aims to help normalize the plant rather than targeting the ardent pot followers.

“You can come in and see it’s not scary,” he said.

And I’m willing to bet that you can still have a good time even if you know the pot well. With numerous art exhibits and quality immersion from Kough and team, guests are able to learn plant knowledge that is far more interpretive than a cannabis exhibit in a museum.

Kough said his decades of involvement in entertainment compelled him to create works that weren’t directly educational.

“With a subject like cannabis, which is so complex and so interesting and so magical, you can’t do it without throwing a little gravy on it,” he said, adding that the goal is to engage people in the wonders of to grow cannabis plants.

That being said, do I think The House of Cannabis could last the full 10 years as planned? It’s entirely possible. Kough said the plan is to “change, mutate and expand” the space as cannabis evolves. And if they can adequately keep up with mainstream American pot interests, they can certainly keep an audience of at least tourists and the occasional enthusiast.

As it stands, I wonder how much of the deeply educated or underground crowd The House of Cannabis attracts. The names and organizations are certainly in place to provide credibility, but with the legal framework still in its infancy, all bets are on which will remain. THC NYC could be at the top of the Museum of Sex in a few years with the almost ten year old Boob Bounce House. Or it may fall off. Only time can tell. So see for yourself