Marijuana Tourism
got two thumbs up in the elections earlier this month as the states of
Washington and Colorado made selling, buying and using cannabis legal.
Never mind the federal law prohibits any of that; the voters have spoken
and opened the door for what could be promoted as Weed Weekends, Bong
Backpacking and a variety of marijuana-related tourism options.
State government leaders were quick to put the brakes on a massive
migration to either state, saying a lot of details still have to be
worked out. Colorado's governor opposed the legalization vote but
indicated after its
passage that he didn't see marijuana tourism taking over the state and its iconic tourist attractions.
''I don't think that's going to happen,'' Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a Boston.com report.
''They're going to flock here to buy marijuana as if they're going to
take it back? On an airplane? That seems unlikely to me.''
Still, while public use of marijuana is not part of the deal, possession
and personal use very much is. That applies not to just state
residents, but to visitors also.
Anyone 21 or older can legally posses up to an ounce of recreational
marijuana in Colorado and grow up to six plants. That's the law. On a
legal focus, they can't use it in public, the rules for medical
marijuana (already a $1.7 billion industry), are unchanged and the
"possession no problem" element clock starts ticking now. Previous
marijuana crimes stick.Disregarding the federal law
for a moment, these states could indeed legislate the implementation of a
state-licensed marijuana industry. Much like states control and tax
alcoholic beverages, mostly free from federal intervention, millions in
revenue could be generated to support otherwise underfunded programs
like education.
It's not like Colorado and Washington are new to the world of marijuana
either and the recent vote to legalize it could be viewed as a natural
progression.
Colorado and Washington are part of 18 states and Washington, D.C., that
have legalized medical marijuana for people with medical conditions
like cancer, nausea, multiple sclerosis, migraine headaches and chronic
pain.
In Colorado, many ski slopes already have old mining cabins that have been turned into ''smoke shacks,''
places to smoke marijuana out of the wind and cold. Breckenridge,
Colorado, dropped criminal penalties for marijuana use two years ago.
In Washington state, for over 20 years, travelers have come from all over the world for Seattle's HempFest
(pictured), an annual gathering that advocates the decriminalization of
marijuana. This year, 250,000 attended as police looked on.
Will the entire states of Colorado and Washington become much like one
huge Amsterdam, where without trying all that hard visitors can freely
enjoy marijuana? Probably not.
We're not apt to see a "World's Largest Pot Plant" attraction on highway
road signs in Colorado any time soon and Seattle probably won't have
Space Needle-shaped bongs in the near future.
In Colorado, it will be a year or more until the state has a system in
place to allow retail sales, but that probably won't stop celebrities
who support the idea
Source : http://www.gadling.com/2012/11/10/marijuana-tourism-not-a-big-surprise-in-colorado-washinton/
