THE BEST PLACES TO SMOKE POT “LEGALLY” IN TORONTO

The best places to smoke pot in Toronto “legally” are welcoming, members-only, strictly cannabis clubs devoted to empowering a community of medicinal and recreational marijuana users. Operating mainly as retail shops or eateries, these businesses seize on privacy laws that prevent them from asking for medicinal status and invite all pot heads out of the streets and into comfortable, social environments, ultimately working to normalize the substance and provide a valued harm-reduction service. The only rules (and these are across the board): cannabis only (no tobacco, alcohol, salvia or other non-cannabis products), members get high on their own supplies (no sharing, mooching, asking, fishing, or dealing), and you must be 18 or older.

THE HOUSE OF YOGA/HIGH TIMES

714 Bloor St.

Head to the back of the Conscious Consumption head shop on Bloor and you’ll find the city’s haziest yoga studio. Here, between regular hatha yoga classes, you’ll find Thai-yoga massage practitioner and medical herbologist Lucelene Pancini’s House of Yoga, a sanctuary for mindfulness, meditation, and medication where classes have the option of bringing their own herb and joining a community in a ganja-guided yoga class.

Cover: First class $20 (or four for $40)/after: $25 drop in, $110 five-class pass, $190 10-class pass.

HOT BOX PUFF LOUNGE

204 Augusta Ave.

Formerly the Hot Box Café, Kensington’s Hot Box moved to the back of Roach-O-Rama on Augusta in 2012, where it’s operated as a vapour lounge space visitors can comfortably hang out and play board games or video games in since, while the outdoor “potio” is perfect for warmer weather. While all this means no more kitchen (and no more grilled cheese), they do keep a snack bar stocked for imminent munchies and cover includes a drink or snack.

Cover: $5 daily, $20 crew card for seven visits and members lounge access.

GOOD WEEDS LOUNGE

940 Danforth Ave.

Previously offering a dab bar that also sold dabs on site, Good Weeds Lounge has reopened strictly as a vapour lounge, but that’s a pretty flexible title – Good Weeds also identifies as vaporizer and accessory shop, a (dry) refreshment shop, a vaporizer testing/comparison spot, a resource centre, and an event space that regularly plays host to comedians, magicians, and musicians.

Cover: $5 single day, $10 weekly, $20 monthly, $80 yearly.

VAPOR CENTRAL

667 Yonge St.

Part head shop and part refreshments bar (no alcohol served or allowed on premises), at Vapor Central, users are free to get high on their own supply, no questions asked, with live entertainment ranging from comedy acts and music to informational variety shows five nights a week.

Cover: $5 (single day), $12 (weekly), $25 (monthly), $95 (yearly); medical users receive half price.

(Main photo by podolux via Flickr)