growing Pains: Can Seattle become A Marijuana Tourism

When Washington state legalized recreational marijuana use final July, Seattle’s tourism trade noticed a brand new opportunity. may Seattle grow to be a hub for pot tourism, with keen guests piling into local hotels and Airbnbs for an opportunity to try some of that famous Pacific Northwest weed? the reply, in a phrase: sure. however now not with out a battle.

before Seattle may turn out to be another Amsterdam, local businesspeople and tourism agencies had to (and still do) care for some sudden concerns. constructing a marijuana tourism mecca, it turns out, isn’t as simple as sparking up a spliff.

So How Does This legal leisure Marijuana thing Work, Anyway?

In Seattle, the epicenter of Washington’s tourism business, marijuana is prison to buy in small portions for private use. however it’s new for each executive and entrepreneurs, so the location is, in some ways, uncertain.

A guide for marijuana people who smoke put out by Seattle’s metropolis government says adults over 21 should buy as much as one ounce of marijuana, sixteen oz of edibles (assume “hash muffins,” or Dixie Elixirs & Edibles’ greater-finish munchables), seventy two oz. of liquid marijuana, or seven grams of marijuana pay attention per talk over with to a state-licensed retailer. that you can’t smoke your marijuana in public view, and you could’t take it out of state with you. And don’t even bring to mind riding high.

but simply because it’s prison doesn’t imply you are able to do it any place. Smoking laws imply you can’t just light a pipe inside of most inns or hostels; the same smoking provisions that ban cigarettes additionally ban smoking marijuana. insurance corporations may also prohibit marijuana use inside of, say, a cafe or coffee shop. meanwhile, not one person I spoke with for this story slightly understands what “public view” means. Is it illegal if you smoke it by means of a window? Is a rooftop illegal? Entrepreneurs—and keen smokers—are trying to determine all of it out.

“We’re looking to Decipher What’s imaginable For tourists”

to seek out out more, I known as David Blandford, vice chairman of communications for discuss with Seattle, the city’s tourism company.

I speedy discovered that Blandford and his group see pot tourism as a puzzle that, once solved, may draw tourists to the town and become a precious draw for the local economic system.

“We’re trying to decipher what’s conceivable for vacationers,” Blandford says. “There’s no national market research. as well as, simply because it’s criminal right here, it doesn’t mean that you could simply stroll down the road and smoke. It’s for private consumption. The vast majorities of venues have no smoking insurance policies of any sort, so it’s an enchanting problem.”

right off the bat, visit Seattle mentioned that one of the most possible possibilities for marijuana tourism—pot-smoking cruises on the Puget Sound—can be not possible because they fall under the jurisdiction of the Coast shield relatively than Washington state. promoting of any sort also turns into a subject matter as a result of conflicting federal and state laws on marijuana use. And, Blandford provides, many established companies simply don’t need to chance poor PR with the aid of providing products and services geared towards pot tourists.

other possibilities are still evolving, Blandford added, for the reason that provide of prison marijuana in Washington state is still somewhat low. As growers swap to prison compliance and a new wave of “weedpreneurs” begin businesses, they nonetheless must navigate paperwork that outlaw illegal marijuana growers and distributors don’t.

The tourism company views marijuana people who smoke as a niche target market much like conference attendees, LGBT vacationers, and wine tourists. In time, seek advice from Seattle thinks that they’ll additionally benefit the town just like those different teams have.

“Marijuana tourism is the wild west, and we’re seeking to glean easiest practices,” Blandford advised quick firm. “We’re stumbling into it, conserving an open thoughts, and hoping it’ll develop.”

Enter Bus excursions

in the period in-between, entrepreneurs are doing what they do easiest and discovering hustles that fly beneath the nostril of the regulation. For Seattle’s marijuana industry, that implies bus tours and visits to dispensaries.

numerous corporations offering bus tours of marijuana farms, retail outlets, and hobby sites have popped up previously yr with names like Cannabus, the Weed Bus club, and Kush Tourism. All of those companies make the most of two details: Washington state laws enable smoking on buses that have glass partitions for passengers (the same legislation that permits you to smoke in the back of a limo), and that private buses fall outdoor the purview of the “public space” legislation within the state legislation. Passengers pay dearly for the privilege; most of the excursions I checked out cost consumers a regular of $25 an hour.

For businesspeople, bus excursions also have one dissimilar advantage: much like vineyard or brewery tours, they permit operators to steer buyers against explicit venues and construct industry relationships with these places. guests, in the meantime, get to regale family and friends back dwelling in Canada or Chicago about their legal weed vacation.