Did you know Egyptians might have used medicinal cannabis as far back as 1550 B.C., or that scientists didn't know about the existence of the human body's endocannabinoid system, which is what enables you to get high, until 1992? Ever heard of the marijuana "entourage effect"?
These are just some of the things you'll learn about during your stroll through the Museum of Weed, an exhibit sponsored by Weedmaps—the Yelp of marijuana dispensaries—that popped up in a 30,000-square-foot warehouse in Hollywood in early August.
The museum is a clever, immersive, interactive maze, first winding you past depictions of ancient Chinese and Indian mystics partaking in cannabis and eventually turning you toward a portrait of George Washington standing proudly in front of his bumper crop of American hemp.
The pre-prohibition room is only the warm-up. You swirl into a section on Reefer Madness, walls plastered with towering 1930s anti-marijuana propaganda depicting psychotic pot addicts and women surrendering to lustful demons under the influence of the "Devil's weed." But soon you reach a section on the hard-won victories of early medical cannabis activists such as San Francisco's Dennis Peron.
The Museum of Weed, open through the end of September, leaves visitors feeling solemn about the tragedy of prohibition but also optimistic about a future in which scientists can freely study this plant and consumers can freely experiment with it.
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