LOS ANGELES — At the LitCo dispensary downtown, Brett “Rollan Buds" Davis approached me with a weed waiver. “It’s so you don’t blame us for getting high,” said Davis, who owns Weed Bus Los Angeles and was guiding the Movie Set Tour on a recent Thursday afternoon. With two joints and a container of edibles in my bag, I took full responsibility.
Marijuana is mainstream but weed tourism isn’t booming. Here’s why.
Bus tours. Smoking lounges. Wake-and-bake drag brunch. Weed travel is growing but hasn’t yet reached its high.
By Andrea Sachs
April 20, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EDT
Davis sealed our group of nine inside the bus like astronauts rocketing to space. Immediately, everyone lit up. Joints were passed among friends or savored privately.
I’d been here before — or at least somewhere like it. In 2014, I boarded a cannabis tour bus in Denver soon after Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana. All of us were giddy, even before the THC kicked in.
Almost 10 years have passed since that memorable ride, and weed is no longer such a novelty. Since then nearly two dozen states have legalized adult-use cannabis and more could be switching sides. “I think we are seeing the last of the elected officials who oppose cannabis,” said Wanda James, an activist and co-founder of Simply Pure Dispensary in Denver.
Despite the momentum, obstacles in the burgeoning cannabis economy have surprisingly hindered innovations in weed tourism. For one, marijuana is still illegal federally, which means states must craft their own rules. In addition, a majority of states ban smoking in public places and many have amended their clean indoor air acts to include cannabis.
Legalization opened the door to buying recreational weed, but stumbled on the next obvious step: where to enjoy it with like-minded souls. Imagine a world with only liquor stores but few places where you can raise your glass — no pubs or baseball stadium beer stands or winery tasting rooms. That’s the conundrum weed tourism is facing. You can smoke, just not here.
“You’d think that cannabis tourism would be booming, but it isn’t,” said Rosie Mattio, founder and chief executive of Mattio Communications, which works with cannabis companies. But, she added, “I see the promise of it, and the concepts are coming to life.”
Still, several destinations have become pioneers in the green rush. And each city approaches cannabis tourism with its own signature flavor.
Las Vegas is pouncing on pot; one hotel plans to open this year with an entire cannabis-friendly floor. Michigan created the Cannabis Trail, which includes a calendar of events, statewide dispensary map, culinary offerings and hotel recommendations. New Jersey is a year into legally lighting up, and all eyes are watching developments in Atlantic City.
“The cannabis traveler looks like travelers from every other category. They are dog lovers, foodies and outdoorsy. They range in age from 21 to 90,” said Todd Aaronson, chief executive of Visit Modesto, which created the MoTown CannaPass in 2021.
To check up on the state of cannabis tourism, I flew out West, where the recreational movement has a steady foothold. My high priority: to see how Denver, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., roll out the green carpet for cannabis tourists.
Denver: For an outdoorsy high
With a wealth of dispensaries, buying cannabis in Denver is easy. But for travelers, consuming it has been more difficult, especially after state legislators amended a 2006 clean indoor air act to include marijuana and vaping. In April 2021, however, the Denver mayor created a marijuana hospitality licensing program.
Until 2027, most licenses are available only to a pool of “social equity applicants” who are low-income residents or Coloradans impacted by previous marijuana-related arrests. To date, the Cannabis Experience and Colorado Cannabis Tours are the only tour operators with a license for mobile consumption.
“There is tons of opportunity, but not a lot of competition,” said Sarah Woodson, founder of the Color of Cannabis and the Cannabis Experience, which leads mural, taco and city highlights tours.
Denver, then and now, is the state’s epicenter of pot tourism. Its cannabis-centric diversions naturally blend into — and even enhance — the Rocky Mountain-high lifestyle. As Sen. John Hickenlooper, the former governor, told me: “One of the reasons tourists will come here to go skiing rather than Utah is because when they finish skiing, they can relax and ingest some marijuana. They feel like they had a more enjoyable vacation.”
The dispensary with ‘a whole charcuterie of cannabis’
At Simply Pure, I stepped into the lobby of what might be the country’s first African American-owned dispensary and immediately exhaled. The waiting room was more tranquil and less paranoid than the last Colorado retailer I visited in 2014. Mirrored windows and an armed guard at the door do not induce calm.
A man named Moses sat behind a glass window, his beatific smile parting his bushy beard. I handed him my driver’s license, which would get more action than my credit card, and waited for the door to the inner sanctum to click open.
Moses, the lead budologist, led me to one of three stations where budtenders provide personalized service on par with buying an engagement ring or a securing a loan. Moses was all mine for as long as I had questions, concerns and cash burning in my pocket.
“You can get a whole charcuterie of cannabis,” he said, as we stood before glass cases and shelves displaying products that you can eat, drink, smoke and dab.
My first legal pot purchase in Colorado was a sticky yellow lollipop that I never finished. Nearly 10 years later, Moses was showing me gourmet chocolate bars, sea salt popcorn and pre-rolled joints packed in artful tins.
The BYO weed lounge
To consume my purchases, Moses recommend Tetra Lounge, which operates like a private club. Generally, consumption lounges allow guests to smoke weed they’ve purchased beforehand or bought on-site, depending on licensing.
On a Monday afternoon, owner Dewayne Benjamin was behind the counter welcoming visitors. Guests bring their own weed and pay a membership fee ($20 a day), which grants them access to the couches, paraphernalia, mural-splashed backyard and a tub of bottled water.
Benjamin waived the fee for me — it was a slow day; I was one of three people — and handed me an ashtray. I sat on a low-slung couch facing a photo gallery of legendary stoners, including Bob Marley, Seth Rogen and Snoop Dogg. Plumes of smoke drifted by like morning fog.
The tour that includes a grow facility
Around lunchtime, I headed to the meeting place for Colorado Cannabis Tours, which has been offering excursions since legalization and earned its mobile consumption license a few days after my visit. Our guide, Gina, who declined to provide a last name, handed me a joint and an edible the color of Boo Berry cereal.
My outing with Cannabis Experience had been canceled because of low attendance, so I was relieved to see two other people on the bus. The married couple were from Texas, where cannabis is not legal. They said it was so freeing to be here, but also a little unsettling. “When we left the dispensary, I thought the cops would follow us,” said Heather, who chose Colorado because of its mountains and cannabis lifestyle.
The bus took us on a spin through the life cycle of cannabis. We toured the Del Mundo grow facility and picked up some goodies at its dispensary. At a glass-blowing studio, artist Chris Schutz cranked up a flame and transformed a piece of glass into a pipe that the couple added to their pile of souvenirs.
“Weed is definitely part of our culture at this point,” said Gina, the tour guide.
The hotel is building its own lounge
Chris Chiari is attempting to revolutionize 420-friendly lodging at the Patterson Inn, where I spent one night. The owner invited me inside the attached carriage house that he is transforming into a cannabis lounge.
Once he resolves the HVAC filtering issue, the 1890s B&B will become the model for his grand plan to create a collection of boutique properties that will cater to guests who fancy a pre-shuteye smoke.
“I will offer it as an amenity to guests, guests of guests and annual members,” he said. “I’m the place you will come to right before bed.”
Arrowhead Manor, which is near Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre about 16 miles from Denver, allows smoking on its decks and outdoor spaces. The property can also arrange cannabis dinners. During my night there, I discovered a smoker’s kit in the vending machine, next to the Honey Buns. However, as the only guest, I didn’t smell any smoke, just pine-scented mountain air.
For now, Denver feels like it’s on the cusp of something great, but like a skier on a new run, it is taking slow and cautious turns to avoid a messy fall.
Los Angeles: The Amsterdam of SoCal
The cannabis lounges on Santa Monica Boulevard are a short downhill walk from a row of posh hotels on Sunset Boulevard. A number of cannabis industry people had told me that many properties will look away if guests smoke on their room’s private balcony or by the rooftop pool. But with a hefty fine, I wasn’t prepared to risk it.
California’s Clean Indoor Air Act requires that up to 80 percent of a hotel’s guest rooms are smoke-free, but properties have the authority to go all-in at 100 percent.
Based on the sniff test, weed is everywhere in the Los Angeles area. But West Hollywood is the A-list spot for cannabis celebutantes. If Cher from “Clueless” grew up to be a toker, she would definitely shop and puff here.
The celebrity-owned dispensary
At Zen Cannabis, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary Thursday, the staff is discreet about its celebrity clientele. A few blocks away, however, workers often drop “Woody” into conversation. That’s Woody Harrelson, the actor and co-proprietor of the Woods, a retail shop and consumption lounge that opened last year.
The city of West Hollywood is positioning itself to become a SoCal Amsterdam. According to a map created by the Emerald Village West Hollywood, the city’s official marketing organization for licensed cannabis businesses, there are eight dispensaries, including two with lounges — with more on the horizon.
For now, visitors can light up at the Woods and Artist Tree, a multilevel space with an art gallery, a dispensary and an indoor/outdoor lounge with table service and special events, such as a wake-and-bake drag brunch show and a Spoken Herb night. “Having this safe space where we can come together is a completely different experience that we aren’t used to having,” said Meghan Pool, a manager at the WeHo outpost.
On a chilly weekday afternoon, I connected with Cal Wolfe, the manager who, when not putting out small fires (such as a guy illegally smoking in the back), showed me around the Woods. He told me that the company — and especially Harrelson — advocates for two main causes: small family-run farms and the release of nonviolent cannabis offenders. Its upside-down marijuana leaf is a symbol of their commitment to right the wrong.
“We’re not free until everyone is freed,” said Wolfe, as we stood before NFTs of artworks created by incarcerated cannabis users. “The leaf will not face up until everyone is freed from cannabis crimes.”
To consume their purchases, guests can enter a colorful oasis called the Ganja Giggle Garden. For $20, they can sit among a tropical profusion of plants sheltering Buddhist sculptures and secluded seating. A bar sells THC-infused drinks and offers free tea, coffee and water. For now, customers can only smoke in one of the enclosed cabanas, but Wolfe said once they install proper ventilation, visitors can light up outdoors.
California law prohibits a cannabis business from serving alcohol, but the Woods figured out how to have both: A door will separate the dispensary and garden from the alcohol bar, which could open by the end of the month. Patrons must keep their indulgences on the appropriate side. Wolfe said the venue’s working title is Holy Water or Mars Bar, a nod to the other celebrity co-owner, Bill Maher.
The hotel with pot brownie room service
Despite its ubiquitous no-smoking signs, Hotel Ziggy was cannabis tolerant. At the front desk, I asked for a menu from Urbn Leaf West Hollywood. The nearby dispensary created a curated list of products that do not emit smoke, such as vegan brownies and infused lemonade.
“Wyld’s sleepy time is the most popular order from the hotel,” said Kurt Haaker, the outlet’s general manager, referring to the edible company’s elderberry flavor. He said the store plans to open a lounge and will soon offer delivery service, so that guests won’t have to dash across the Sunset Strip for their night cap.
Portland: The den of DIY
Paul Stanford’s desk was strewn with pads of hemp paper and bags of herb. When I met with him in Portland, the founder of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation told me how activists had tried several times to legalize cannabis, starting in 1986. To illustrate their fight, he pointed at a green campaign sign urging voters to back Prop 80. Two years later, the measure passed.
“We have more than 400 dispensaries in Oregon, and the price is the lowest in the country,” he said. “It’s rare to go in a park or on the street and not smell it.” (Even so, outdoor consumption is illegal here.)
Portland has no shortage of dispensaries, including many chains that run counter to the state’s indie spirit and fondness for mom-and-pop shops. But the City of Roses lacks other cannabis attractions. Since the state legalized marijuana in 2015, several tour operators and consumption lounges have opened and closed. But unlike Denver and Los Angeles, there does not seem to be any rumbling of new offerings.
The nonexistent tour
Even the Potlandia Experience tour I had booked was called off because of low interest.
“I kind of have a monopoly on the Portland market, but it’s still been kind of rough,” said Matt Onkka, who has been running the city’s only operating cannabis tour company since 2019. “The pandemic really ruined it.”
Leia Flynn, the co-founder of Flight Club, the members-only cafe in Portland and clubhouse in Oregon City, can relate.
“I feel like there needs to be one of these in each neighborhood, like bars are,” Flynn said. “But I’m it. They don’t have any lounges. It’s just me.”
The apothecary/dispensary
Without the guiding hand of a tour, I set out on my own to learn more about Portland’s cannabis culture, basically knocking on doors like a canvasser. I started at Home Grown Apothecary and Dispensary, which was coincidentally a planned stop on Onkka’s tour.
Inside, I was greeted warmly by Andi Keller, the media director who also makes candles for the apothecary. The room was homey and healing with a fireplace, vintage couch with throw pillows and a fringe lamp that emitted a honey glow.
Before we entered the dispensary, which was concealed behind a door, I asked Keller how much I could legally purchase. “You can essentially leave a dispensary with a shopping cart of cannabis,” she said. But this is no CVS of cannabis: The store supports organic farmers and small crafters who mirror the staff’s composition: women, minorities, LGBTQ+, immigrants. “We don’t want big pharma cannabis,” she said.
Home Grown is just off Sandy Boulevard, also known as the Green Mile. I also passed Nectar, Electric Lettuce and Tree House Collective.
The pot history center
To continue my education, Stanford suggested I drop by Oregon Grown, a dispensary that doubles as the Library of Congress of Cannabis. After buzzing me in, Michael Bachara led me to his wall of posters for festivals and marches. He pulled out books, photos and pamphlets that documented the push for legalization, which I looked at while he helped customers.
One of the most memorable artifacts is a green-painted wooden sign that read “Cannabis Cafe,” a former consumption lounge in the basement of the building that houses the dispensary. It was open for two years, before the medical community raised concerns about secondhand smoke. It closed in 2011.
“It had a big bar like ‘Cheers,’” Bachara said, his voice tinged with nostalgia. “We had bingo nights and comedy nights. We were like a family.”
Bachara is not done fighting. He is filing an initiative that will allow public cannabis lounges with indoor consumption. He is seeking 250,000 signatures. A customer withdrawing money from the ATM said she would support the petition.
The lounge with all the trinkets — and a place to sleep
The Flight Lounge is the only cannabis-friendly club in Oregon and the only cafe of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, according to Flynn, a legal assistant for the Oregon Cannabusiness Compliance Counsel. The venues occupy a fuzzy gray space. They only accept members who pay a one-time fee of $10, plus $5 per visit, which is waived if they order food. (Available only at the Portland location.)
Like Tetra Lounge, guests must bring their own cannabis, but Flight Club provides the bongs, ashtrays and entertainment — movies, pool tables, live music, drag queen shows.
“Our passion was to create a safe space for people. A lot of these people risk getting a ticket or evicted for smoking,” she said. “The food is just a perk.”
Flynn rents out two rooms above the lounge and throws in temporary membership as an amenity. I didn’t need to go downstairs to indulge: Room 420 came with a fine selection of bongs and ashtrays. But I didn’t want to squander my membership.
I scanned the menu hanging behind the counter, my eye stopping at “stoner cereal.” On a display case filled with CBD tincture and giant cookies, I read a sign that explained why the lounge could remain open and Flynn was always in motion: “We are a private club. We are not a place of employment and have no employees.”
Flynn and her business partner were running the whole show: They cooked, served, cleared and cleaned the tables. They also greeted, joked with and encouraged their guests.
“Do your homework,” she called out to a member who often studied at the cafe.
I settled into a table next to two brunch buddies who were digging into plates piled high with French toast, shrimp and grits and breakfast meats. Smoke rose from their table, as the women toked between bites.
Opposite me, a guy dug into a reusable shopping bag and extracted a bong as long as his forearm. He considered it for a minute before selecting a bong from a corner shelf where, in a more traditional restaurant, the staff would stockpile the condiments.
