LOWER LAKE >> What do you get when you cross cats with cannabis? Lake County’s first private cannabis use club.
The Joint at the Lodge on Lake Street will be a non-profit, members-only club where people can gather to sip wine, socialize and smoke weed, as long as they are at least 18-years-old, have a valid ID and a valid medical marijuana recommendation (script).
The Lodge on Lake Street is hosting its grand opening from noon to midnight Saturday, featuring live music and food. The public is invited to the free event. The Lodge is a public entertainment and multimedia center.
And the feline connection? Thirty percent of the proceeds from food and other items sold at the event go to the Lake County cat rescue non-profit group, Animal Assist and Rescue. To date, the group has adopted out more than 150 adult cats and kittens through PetSmart in Santa Rosa.
Both The Lodge and The Joint are the ideas of Lower Lake resident Terri Larsen and her partner, Peter Shifman, operators of the cat rescue organization.
Larsen’s idol has always been the late, legendary concert promoter Bill Graham. Now, Larsen wants to work a little bit of Graham’s magic in Lake County by promoting concerts and other events at her new entertainment venue.
Larsen and Shifman — along with a lot of volunteer help, including contractor Joel Moore — have converted the old Rebekah’s Lodge building in Lower Lake into a combination broadcast studio and entertainment venue.
“We are going to be a public event center and private club,” Larsen said.
The Lodge will be available for outdoor events, including concerts, workshops and seminars,” Larsen said. “I want to be a local Bill Graham.”
A renaissance fair is planned for October. Lake County’s once-largest renaissance fair venue, Terrill Cellars in Lower Lake, was destroyed in last year’s Clayton Fire.
Larsen and Shifman plan on having a second structure built on Lodge property to accommodate more people and attract more events.
The main reason for the grand opening, Larsen said, is to “teach people about our private club.”
“It’s a social cannabis club,” Larsen said this week from The Lodge where workers were still readying the building for the opening.
The Lodge needs to have at least 100 members to get a state license to serve wine and beer, Larsen said. It’s a number she believes they will have no problem getting.
“We need a place for people of like-mind who smoke (cannabis) to go,” she said. “But it’s strictly for medical marijuana (MMJ) users. You must have a valid MMJ script from a doctor.”
Membership in The Joint is $200 a year, Larsen said. “We want to limit the club to about 100 members for now to see how it works out,” she added.
Recreational marijuana use, with many conditions, becomes legal in California on Jan. 1 but the use, possession, sale and cultivation of marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
So aren’t Larsen and Shifman concerned that the private club will get the attention of local law enforcement?
“We’re following all the rules and laws of a (MMJ) dispensary,” Shifman said.
“It’s not illegal in a private situation,” Larsen said. “We want to make sure we’re following all the rules.”
The Joint will have its own rules, including requiring that cannabis and alcohol users must refrain from drinking or using cannabis for an hour before leaving the club.
“It’s not a place to come in and smoke a quick joint and leave,” she said. “This is a social club that’s going back to old school ways.”
Also, people have to bring their own cannabis and related products since the club will not sell either, Larsen said.
She added, “It’s a place where people can come together and smoke a joint without worrying about getting into trouble.”
Asked why she’s opening the new event center and private club, Larsen laughed and said, “I keep asking myself that. However, my background is in entertainment.”
She added, “It’s my second nature to throw parties and have fun. And I know a lot of (musical) artists in Northern California.”
Larsen also said The Lodge will have a studio for its television and radio station that she hopes to focus on once the grand opening is over.
Saturday’s grand opening of The Lodge will feature seven musical acts representing folk, rock, reggae, hip hop and heavy metal, Larsen said.
The lineup includes Travis Rinker, Familyman Levi, Mendo Dope, Trevor Lyon, Without a Net, Hella Mella and Stryk9.
The day starts with an open mic jam session with David Ryan from noon to 4 p.m. “Anyone can come and play,” Larsen said.
Food is expected to be sold, including trip tip and pizza. Beverages will include beer and wine.
Larsen described the event’s decor as, “Tropical Victorian Steampunk.”
The Lodge is at 8466 Lake St. in Lower Lake.
