CANNABIS TOURISM

The sun rises over Alpenglow Farms in Southern Humboldt County.

local news California CannabisTourism Poised for Huge Summer

Cannabis farms with tourism licenses, hotels offering direct sales to guests, and more reasons to expect a big year for a certain type of homegrown hospitality.

THE SECRET IS OUT: People want to see where Cannabis grows. Until recently, such desires were usually a futile wish. After all, protecting the location of one’s crop was of the utmost importance prior to the rise of legal markets in certain states. Even today, many continue to experience a disconnect between the flower in a jar purchased at a dispensary, and the soil – not to mention farmers – from which it originated.

This issue isn’t limited to consumers and the general public. When Judi Nelson of Trinity County’s Sol Spirit Farm first began attending trade shows several years ago, she recalls being “blown away” by the number of people she met who were working in the Cannabis industry, but had never seen a Cannabis plant growing in the ground.

“That was a big part of us wanting to do this,” Nelson added. “It’s so important to really see that, because I think it has the power to be life-changing.”

Nelson’s undertaking – which she owns and operates alongside her husband, Walter Wood – is a 10,000-square-foot regenerative Cannabis farm in Trinity County. In 2019, the venture added Sol Spirit Retreats: a farm-stay hospitality business focused on Cannabis tourism.

The result is a glamping experience that includes a tour of the farm, decadent spreads of locally-made goods, and even a day of floating on the South Fork of the Trinity River. It is, in fact, but one of many opportunities those interested in Cannabis tourism are currently being encouraged to enjoy.

A TICKET TO (CANNABIS) PARADISE

April Black’s Cannabis travel agency career happened somewhat inadvertently.

After working to book trips to Amsterdam in connection with High Times Cannabis Cup events, Black, who is married to Leaf Magazines columnist Bobby Black, soon found her work expanding to include travel packages for the Hawaii Cannabis Expo. From there, she saw a niche and flourished.

Today, Black brings years of experience working on events and itineraries – set everywhere from Jamaica to the inner-wilds of the Emerald Triangle – to her role at Higher Way Travel. And naturally, the success of Prop. 64 in 2016 brought with it a huge surge of new opportunities for her clients.

“Since legalization happened here in California,” Black said, “the doors have just burst wide open. Now there are all kinds of different options for Cannabis tourists. There are hotels like the Desert Hot Springs Inn, which has a micro-license which allows them to sell Cannabis to their guests. It’s gone that far. There are farm tours, Cannabis-infused massages, dinner pairings – you name it. There are even farms you can stay at.”

One such option is Judi Nelson’s Sol Spirit Farm. In fact, the Trinity County property will soon play host to the Higher Health Retreat — an upcoming event Black is planning for this July.

There are also four farms licensed for tourism in Humboldt County, though as Nelson explained, the entire process regarding what is required to welcome visitors can sometimes come down to a matter of inches.

“Our farm is licensed in Trinity County, but our property line is the Humboldt-Trinity line,” Nelson explained. “My next-door neighbor is in Humboldt County and her farm is permitted in Humboldt County, but we happen to be in Trinity County.” “Trinity has its own set of challenges,” she continued. “But as far

Victor Pinho and Lauren Mendelsohn of Emerald Farm Tours

as the tourism goes, I feel like it’s given me a lot more freedom. Any Cannabis farm that’s permitted in Humboldt County has to get a special tourism permit as an attachment to their Cannabis permit, but we do not have to do that in Trinity.”

Even if the bureaucracy governing how to regulate tourism in the Cannabis industry remains spotty and inconsistent – efforts to get such a system underway in Sonoma, for example, remain glacially slow – the appeal and potential market for such offerings is quickly becoming undeniable.

AND ON YOUR LEFT, WEED

For Victor Pinho, a windfall of interest in Cannabis tourism is a moment he’s thrilled to welcome. Together, Black and Pinho host the Audible podcast “High on Tour,” which draws on their respective experience in the world of Cannabis tourism.

As the owner and operator of Emerald Farm Tours, Pinho was ahead of the curve when his company became the first to start offering tours in the San Francisco Bay Area after adult-use legalization took effect in 2018.

“The idea was conceptualized over that winter,” he said, “and we were doing tours by February.”

Since then, Pinho estimates his operation has served hundreds of tourists and thousands of people overall.

In terms of demographics, the customers Emerald Farm Tours sees represent all (legally permitted) ages and also hail from all walks of life. During a typical tour, 10 or so guests will take a Mercedes Sprinter van up to visit Cannabis farms in the Emerald Triangle – though the company offers a variety of options, including a localized walking tour of San Francisco.

“We’ve created a lot of different kinds of tours,” Pinho noted, “but the focus always remains on bringing folks right to the plants and the process. We really revere and love this plant and what it’s all about, so we make that central to everything we do.”

When COVID-19 upended travel plans across the globe last spring, Pinho’s own ability to fulfill this mission became exponentially more difficult.

Thankfully, the outlook for 2021 appears far brighter, and, as a result, Emerald Farms Travel plans to officially reopen on June 15. Pinho reported that spots are filling fast.

“I think there’s this pent-up demand,” he said, “because we already have a lot more bookings than we ever would have thought possible by this point.”

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The map of potential Cannabis tourism destinations continues to expand at a rapid clip. According to April Black, Canada is already well on its way to embracing its post-legalization identity, with a number of Cannabis-friendly lodging options and continued, promising efforts in support of consumption lounges.

Meanwhile, following Mexico’s recent move to legalize, Black envisioned what a packaged tour there might entail.

“I’d love to do something in Oaxaca or Tulum, where all those old guys in the 1970s used to smuggle Cannabis into the U.S.,” she said. “I would love to do like a sacred sites Cannabis tour, where you could tour some farms down there, you’d get to smoke, but then you’d also go and see all of these cool pyramids.”

But even in California alone, the opportunities surrounding Cannabis travel continue to grow, while enticing an ever-expanding pool of potential patrons.

Whether you want to indulge in Cannabis-assisted luxury or simply stand in the presence of the plant in its natural state, these services offer a never-before-available way for consumers to connect directly with each other, as well as to the farmers who grow the plant – many of whom have long preferred the shadows to the light, but welcome the chance today.

In so many words, that’s why Judi Nelson invites people to Sol Spirit Farm each year.

“To come out here, to this very rural place, is part of the experience for sure,” Nelson said. “We try our best to imbue the flower with good vibes, so when visitors are back home and go buy our flower, it can spark a sense of place. In that way, it’s an experience that lasts beyond the visit itself. It’s something that has the power to continue to change people.”

“Since legalization happened here in California, the doors have just burst wide open. Now there are all kinds of different options for Cannabis tourists.”

April Black | Higher Way Travel

Sol Spirit Farm in Willow Creek, CA. 19 HigherWayTravel.com EmeraldFarmTours.com

SolSpiritFarm.com