New York City now has its very own immersive exhibit about marijuana and its history. The 9,000 square foot museum is located in a Chelsea building and opened on Oct. 7.

The immersive experience is fun and all, but the exhibit is on a dedicated mission to further destigmatize cannabis while exploring its relationship with sexual wellness, the opioid epidemic, social justice, and mass incarceration.

The Stone Age features the works of eight street artists, some of which experienced the criminalization of cannabis. The exhibit brings guests through a journey into our inner senses. It closes off by raising awareness about how cannabis has acted as a way to discriminate against minorities for far too long.

We also want to note that the exhibit does not give or distribute cannabis on the grounds, but the website encourages guests to do whatever they please to “enhance” their experience before visiting.

“For us, cannabis is so much more than just getting high,” said Sasha Perelman in a podcast with Honeysuckle magazine. Perelman organized the exhibition alongside Elizabeth Santana, and together, they have executed well over hundreds of events in the cannabis industry.

“There are many conversations that cannabis becomes the catalyst for that we’re really excited to have in this space and promote a conversation around,” says Perelman. These conversations kick off upon entering the museum’s four-room display around sexual wellness that explores how cannabis can aid in excitement, arousal, plateau, and orgasm.

Later, guests walk into another room that emphasizes how cannabis can heighten creativity; they even have a DJ booth for guests to produce their own music quickly. The first half of the exhibit reminds us why we adore cannabis, but the second half has a much more moving message.

Visitors will later enter a space where a tornado of prescriptions twists up from the ground. Focussing on the opioid epidemic, the museum suggests that cannabis can help those addicted to prescription medication find a more natural way to heal. “The benefits of cannabis as a natural medicine to help with pain can not only help with opioid withdrawal but hopefully alleviate your need to try opioids,” says Perelman

Later, it gets even more real. Guests walk up to a timeline that depicts how anti-marijuana campaigns have been used to target minorities and Black Americans since the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, which horribly states, “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”

The exhibit ends with a mural painting of a jail cell, painted by an anonymous artist who was previously incarcerated. The dark grey room oozes nothing but sadness, despair, and lack of freedom, primarily upon noticing the hundreds of tally marks on the wall.

We genuinely appreciate how The Stone Age used cannabis to touch on significant issues revolving around the cannabis industry. It will help visitors get a better understanding of the plant’s complex history.