I’m in Washington State and just saw a billboard advertising the dispensary closest to me. Maybe they’re getting braver.
One of our mayoral candidates has that sort of advertising as part of his platform. He went off in a recent debate about how “we can’t even smoke it in our public parks!” :rolleyes:
You can buy t-shirts in the store on top of Pike’s Peak which read:
14,110 feet
Getting this high would be
illegal in most other states
This recent NYT article on pot tourism in the state (specifically the Denver metro area) may be of interest.
As for the OP’s question, I can’t see Colorado taxpayers’ money being spent on trying to attract out-of-state travelers to our state. It seems that private industry is more than willing to spend its own money to do so, though.
Surely, there are some folks who would like to go somewhere on their vacation rather than stay at home and smoke quietly. I always thought that the adverts were for tourists not to get people to relocate to your state but if they’re not then I can see your point. This goes for folks in medical marijuana states. Sure they could stay home every vacation or they might just want to go somewhere where they can smoke legally and still do the tourist thing and presumably the commercials would show all that fun touristy stuff.
I guess. Some of the same reasonably applies, however. If I want to go to California on vacation and smoke while I’m there, I can. The fact that it’s “illegal” there and legal in Colorado would never enter into the equation. For some people it might. I just don’t think it’s that many.
On the other hand, people used to fly to Amsterdam to get high, (although I am sure they smoked at home too) so maybe you have a point.
Well, Amsterdam/Netherlands has been a popular tourist destination for its legal weed culture for years (not that that’s the only reason of course, as it seems to be a nice place all-around, but it’s definitely part of it). Of course, there’s a big difference there in that they have actual cafes where you can smoke/consume it in public, unlike the states that have legalized it here.
I don’t know why they keep up the pretense of it being a dirty shameful thing that even though it’s legal to buy, you still have to squirrel it away and find some private place to use it. They need to go all out and legalize the public weed cafe concept. Plus I really want to see Starbucks start offering Ganja Lattes.
I’ll bet that there are people who would not relish trying to procure illegal drugs in a state where they don’t live. Again, you are assuming that people would choose to go with the express purpose of smoking pot rather than taking a vacation where they can also smoke pot.
I’m not sure that the tourists would be flocking to Siberia even if it was the only place on the planet where you can legally smoke. It’s about the pot being a value added rather than a goal. I agree with you that people aren’t smoking already at home and travelling just so they can smoke legally, but it would be a plus and that’s what advertising is for, to tip the scales and convince you to pick their tourist traps.
When I drove through southern Colorado, and approached more conservative areas of the State where you can’t find dispensaries, I did see a bunch of billboards advertising one store as sort of a “last chance” for many miles. But I don’t recall too many flashy billboards or ads here in Denver. Generally, you recognize the stores by the cross and the words “Rec Med 21+” (i.e. recreational and medical marijuana for those 21 and over) more than the store name or some logo.
[QUOTE=Disgruntled Penguin]
I’m not sure that the tourists would be flocking to Siberia even if it was the only place on the planet where you can legally smoke. It’s about the pot being a value added rather than a goal. I agree with you that people aren’t smoking already at home and travelling just so they can smoke legally, but it would be a plus and that’s what advertising is for, to tip the scales and convince you to pick their tourist traps.
[/QUOTE]
I agree with this. Colorado has always been a haven for tourists, with its mountains, hiking, camping and skiing. But now it offers a little more for those comparing it as a destination to, say, Utah.
Colorado: Dave’s not here, but you should be
I saw a billboard for a dispensary right on I-5 in Portland a couple of weeks back. It was southbound, just past the Washington border. My guess is they’re saying “Hey! You don’t have to go to Washington anymore!” 
There is a very thin line regarding what is and is not allowed in terms of advertising pot in Colorado. The reason given is that it’s still illegal on the federal level, and part of the unspoken compromise with the Feds is that we don’t officially call attention to it. Not sure how Washington State is circumnavigating that, but possibly they have a different agreement.
Tourism advertising in Colorado is based on natural scenic beauty and outdoor sports and events. And honestly, it’s all we need to get people to come here. Everyone knows about the pot, and the already rapidly expanding Colorado population has seen a growth spurt due to the availability of both recreational and medical pot. Housing prices are insane here. We’re not quite San Francisco, but we are heading in that direction. Availability lags behind demand, even with constant building programs.
We are about to enact ceilings on how many marijuana-related businesses can receive licenses in the city of Denver. The warehouse section of town has been flooded with marijuana grow and storage businesses, driving per foot prices up too high for most long-term warehousing tenants, who are complaining vocally to the city and state officials.
Even if the Feds didn’t figure into the equation, I honestly don’t think any marijuana tourism advertising would be undertaken or allowed, at least until some of the growing pains mentioned above are negotiated and solved.
Well on the other hand, if we take the feds out of the equation, we do have the wine areas of California and the Bourbon trail in Kentucky both advertising a similar vice for tourists.
I don’t know about California vintners, but I’m pretty sure an alliance of Kentucky distillers provides the funding for the Bourbon Trail promotional campaigns – the program is not taxpayer funded. Colorado’s tourism board spends a lot of taxpayer money on tourism campaigns for the state, but they don’t make mention of pot.
As others have mentioned, it’s debatable whether it’s necessary to spend money trying to convince people to come to Colorado for vacation (IMHO, it is). I don’t think it’s necessary to spend any money, whether those funds come from public or private coffers, to bring up the pot angle (vs. the scenery, outdoor activities, breweries, and other angles). It promotes itself just fine – people are *moving *here for that reason (or one among others), let alone coming to spend a few days.
Cmiiw, but pot’s still illegal by federal law, it’s just that the feds, for the time being at least, are ignoring these state okayed dispensaries. What’s Trump’s position on state v federal government pot laws?
There’s a website that shows tourists how to do pot tourism.
https://www.coloradopotguide.com/what-to-do/marijuana-tours/