The heady aroma of pot tourism

Lawmakers in Washington state and Colorado have until December of this year to lay down the rules for the legalization of sale of pot. And one question high on the agenda is, how does all of this relate to tourists?

If Amsterdam is a good example, pot tourism literally brings in the green in more ways than one. Although the Netherlands had tried to enforce a ban on the selling of pot to tourists, the Amsterdam City Council simply refused to comply, because it is fully aware of how well their coffers are being lined by pot-smoking tourists. In fact, pot sales are doing so well, the Amsterdam City Council wants to be allowed to grow its own marijuana.

It does not appear, however, that either Washington or Colorado are much concerned about waiting around for the lawmakers to set the parameters for buying and selling marijuana. There’s a lot of wiggle room in the interpretation of simply enjoying pot on offer.

One of the largest annual events and a big tourist draw in the Pacific Northwest is an event called Hempfest. In Seattle, a marijuana dinner cruise will set sail this summer, while in Colorado, Snoop Lion (the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg) didn’t get into a whiff of trouble for throwing joints out into the crowd at a Denver Center Park event last month. Heck, you can even take a cannabis cooking class in Denver.

Who knows, maybe they’re onto something. Maybe pot tourism is the new green economy.