Cannabis Tourism, Are You Canna-Curious?

By Mary Charlebois

Considering a cannabis tour? Interested in medical marijuana? Curious about the effects of the annual flowering herb? Chances are there’s a cannabis tour out there that’s right for you.

Cannabis tours are selling out in places like Portland, Denver, and Seattle. A cannabis tour can be an afternoon activity or an entire weekend getaway.

The experiences vary widely. Costs range from $0 to a hundred+ dollars. New businesses, price points, and concepts are popping up as fast as state laws allow.

Nine states now offer completely legal weed, and more will be voting laws to liberalize marijuana use for adults in the years to come.

A thriving industry is developing around the use of medicinal, culinary, and recreational marijuana. Cannabis tourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the business. Tours focus on cannabis culture from many angles.

They may be educational, entertaining, or both. Guided tours are a safe way to get an insider’s look at how cannabis is grown, processed, sold, and consumed.

Tours—What To Expect

Precisely what is included in a trip will differ from state to state and from tour operator to tour operator. Tours may be organized on a tour bus, in a limo, or on foot. They can be an all-inclusive weekend or a 30-minute ‘using cannabis skincare products’ class.

Tours might incorporate an indoor or outdoor farm visit; a cannabis kitchen where marijuana edibles are prepared; a lab testing cannabis flowers for contaminants; a studio where one of a kind glass pipes are crafted. Cannabis as medicine is one of the most popular tour types. Read about a Colorado Marijuana tour.

Some tours include demonstrations or hands-on classes; making hash, cooking, joint rolling, or cannabis gardening, for example. Outings usually include a stop at a dispensary, the cannabis version of a liquor store. There you can ask questions, get recommendations, and make purchases.

Your tour operator can usually guide you to marijuana-friendly hotels, and in some areas, cannabis-friendly clubs. Your tour operator won’t supply cannabis, they are not licensed dispensaries. And while folks on the tour bus might have a buzz and a case of the munchies, your driver and tour guide will be sober.

Self-Guided Tours

You can set-up your own independent tour with a little online work.

Choose your cannabis friendly destination, either medical, recreational or both. Read-up on your destination’s cannabis laws. Kush Tourism is an online source for this type of research. You can find each state’s laws; see links to tours; cannabis-friendly lodging, and a forum for questions. It’s a good starting point and kept up-to-date.

Decide what element of the marijuana world you’d like to explore, then hit the search engine. Example: If you’re going to Portland and want to visit a farm, search ‘cannabis farms Portland Oregon.’ Contact the farms you’re interested in and ask for a tour. Rinse and repeat for all your marijuana-related interest: medicinally focused dispensaries, edibles, cosmetics, oils, etc.

Once you’re at your destination, dispensaries are trustworthy sources for local growers and producers you can visit; demonstrations or classes you can attend, and cannabis-friendly lodging. To find dispensaries, Leafly is a comprehensive site, also available as a smartphone version.

Six Cannabis Travel Tips

Laws are different in each state for cannabis use, but whether you’re traveling in California or Maine, there are a few things you should never do for your own safety and freedom.

Don’t touch the plants in the growing area. Sanitation is a huge issue, and no one will be happy if you touch their plants.

• Don’t transport cannabis across a state line, even into an adjoining cannabis-friendly state.
• Do not drive while under the influence of cannabis.
• Don’t share cannabis with anyone under the age of 21.
• Do not consume on Federal lands such as national parks, national forests, monuments, or other government properties. They aren’t governed by state laws.
• Don’t purchase from unlicensed individuals or dispensaries.
• Do not arrive unexpected, or trespass, on farms or places cannabis, is being grown or processed.

Whether you’re a first-timer or long-time consumer, cannabis tours are a safe and legitimate way to experience marijuana for medical, recreational, culinary, cosmetic, or other use.

In Denver, you can take a cannabis tour with My420tours.com, which costs $49 and is offered every Saturday Sunday and Monday.

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