The Future of Marijuana Tourism in San Francisco

Image: Goldie S. via Yelp

California makes more money just on medical cannabis than Colorado, Washington and Oregon combined make on recreational, no-card-required, anyone-over-21-can-just-walk-up-and-buy-it cannabis. We’ll leave them in a cloud of smoke if Prop. 64 passes this November and allows for the same recreational, no-medical card-required, anyone-over-21-can-just-walk-up-and-buy-it marijuana sales here in the Golden State. California wouldn’t just get an additional $1 billion per year in tax revenue, we’d get tens of thousands of new jobs, entire new industries and countless tourists visiting California just to sample our world-famous weed.

Marijuana tourism is no joke. Check out the above graphic from Marijuana Business Daily showing the effect on Colorado tourism when recreational marijuana became legal there in 2014. But we being California, we can surely hash out danker, doobier and more concentrated concepts in marijuana tourism, ‘kind’ of like the ones we’ve listed below….

WEED-TASTING AND WEEDERY TOURS

Image: Jeremy C. via Yelp

Millions visit California wine country every year to go wine-tasting and take winery tours. Why not have the option to go weed-tasting and take weedery tours? Colorado just opened such a venue called Colorado Cannabis Ranch & Amphitheater that according to MarketWatch “expects to generate just over $90 million in revenue from the weedery during the first few months of operation”. (Italics mine cause I’m high)

MENDOCINO MARIJUANA FRIES

Image: McDonald’s

If McDonald’s can make Gilroy Garlic Fries “using a purée made with world-famous garlic from Gilroy, California”, why can they not make the same fries using a purée made with world-famous marijuana from Mendo? They could, and it might even result in another Harold & Kumar movie.

LYFT FOR…. AWW DUDE I FORGET WHAT FOR

Image: ggoebel via Flickr

Colorado already has several on-demand transit services that will get you high while getting you around. Loopr provides a “mobile cannabis lounge” as an app-based rideshare you can hail with your smartphone. 420 Airport Pickup hauls you around in a fancy stretch limo where you’re totally back there getting high.

ANIMAL CAFES

image: www.gizmodo.co.uk

Business at the KitTea Cat Cafe may just explode, who doesn’t like a pumpkin latte and a Tabby after vaping in the morning?  The cat toys double as human toys,  the play area is not only for the cats, but also for you…stoner.  We would also like to see an array of petting zoos open up

MICHELIN STAR MARIJUANA RESTAURANTS

Image: Edsell via Flickr

If the Dolores Park Truffle Man had a fine dining restaurant, what would it be called? DoPa? State Truffle Man Provisions? Truffle Man Tartine? Shout out wisecracks in the comments if you’re funnier than me.

MARIJUANA MUSEUMS

Image: Paramount Pictures

There ought to be a Marijuana Hall of Fame where you can take selfies with Madame Tussaud-style wax figures of Cheech and Chong, Alice B. Toklas, Jack Herer and Ed Rosenthal. There could even be a marijuana science and history exhibit, as well as an exhibit dedicated to Xzibit.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE LASER LIGHT SHOW

The “Pink Floyd Laser Light Show” genre could leave audiences unable to feel their face if a more contemporary stoner artist were paired with the vastly more sophisticated (Amazon-purchased) laser machines of today.

BLUNT-SMOKING BALL PITS

The people at Forward Motion have thrown a smattering of drunken ball pit events. But this pastime could easily be repurposed for stoners, preferably with the addition of some really wack electroclash music.

BUD & BREAKFAST

Image: Bud & Breakfast

There are already tons of these in Colorado, and the concept is simple: guests are given cozy accommodations and served delicious breakfast all while getting goofed on skunkweed.

‘HIGH’-ALTITUDE HIKING

Image: reybouk via Flickr

The coming wave of ganja tourists deserves to be taken up Mount Diablo or Mount Tamalpais with a fat sack and shown the vantage points by a caring and thougthful hiking guide who’s full of good stories and knows how to not get lost.

BONG ME SANDWICHES

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Vietnamese sandwiches served with an enormous bong rip. The jokes write themselves. This is a completely easy idea and San Franciscans will stand in line for blocks for it.

But none of this magic can come to pass unless you registered California voters support the Adult Use of Marijuana Act and Vote Yes on Prop. 64 this November. Of all the massively important issues on your November ballot, Prop 64 has the potential to improve your life the most. Because who knows, you might make a million dollars off some great cannabis tourism idea.