If you’re a cannabis connoisseur that’s always looking for an elevated smoking experience, you’re in luck — if you live in Malibu, that is. The upscale smoke shop Higher Standards arrived on the West Coast right after the dawn of a new decade, and made a home at the Malibu Village Shopping Center on January 23.
The cozy, beachy space, measuring a mere 640 square feet, is sandwiched between two retail stores and is two joint puffs away from Fred Segal. The minimal So Cal beach vibe is extended to the exterior, where the wood-slat awning reigns supreme.
The elevated stoner’s version of a head shop made its debut just in time for the holidays in December 2017 at New York’s Chelsea Market. Glamourous potheads could numb the stress of the holidays with fancy, $780 vaporizers, or for the artistic smoker, water pipes a la Keith Haring.
Cheech and Chong wouldn’t know what to do with a copy of Lizzie Post’s “Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, from Dispensaries to Dinner Parties.” But rest assured. Higher Standards does. They even have their own curated packages, like the Higher Standards Rig x Pen Connect Bundle, handcrafted from 7mm thick, medical-grade borosilicate glass. The bundle includes the rig, a collector’s case, and an inline percolator. The quartz banger ensures optimal flavor transfer and has exceptional airflow. Better yet? Clean that bundle with the Higher Standards Supreme Cleaning Kit, or select pipe stix or resin rags a la carte.
For the discerning cannabis connoisseur, high-end merch abounds. Choose from vintage 1950’s smoking accessories to the tech-forward Levo ($350), an oil-infusing machine that fits in on your most exquisite marble countertops. In the market for a dry herb vaporizer? Higher Standards has ‘em. Just ask for the Firefly 2+ and Crafty+. Those are just some of the brands featured in the store.
A collection of vintage ashtrays makes for a conversation piece when smoking a doob with friends. Take your pick from Tiffany & Co. silver trays (although they have glass too; silver seems posher) or a commemorative 1984 Los Angeles Olympics ashtray.
Not in the market for vape pens or a joint-rolling robot named Otto? Higher Standards also offers fashion-forward weed-centric gift options like stash jars and bags from Edie Parker and Jonathan Adler for others (boring) or yourself (much better). They also feature lifestyle items that include a branded hoodie for $125, and simple-yet-chic items like branded match bottles in glass with cork stoppers for $30.
While the Malibu store doesn’t sell “heady weed”– that’s the cannabis with THC, by the way — it does feature CBD products. If you’re looking to purchase the devil’s lettuce and a high-end smoking apparatus, you’ll have to visit the Higher Standards pop-ups in existing brick-and-mortar dispensaries (like at Bud and Bloom in Santa Ana, the Pottery in Mid-City, or at Cannary West in Rancho Park).
