Prior to legalization, cannabis was still a major part of many people’s lifestyles. It’s not like edibles and tinctures and the like are anything new. But the risk of jail time certainly kept it behind closed doors, making only occasional public appearances in a chill park or concert. However, now there are dozens of opportunities to work your weed habit into legally endorsed pursuits in some of the coolest cities in the country.
We’ve gathered a list of a dozen activity categories and highlighted a standout in every entry. Please know that though we may be writing about doing a sun salutation in rainy Portland, Oregon, chances are you can also find a class to enlighten you in snowy Denver, CO, too. So, we hope that you’ll get inspired and head to a search engine to sleuth out opportunities closer to you. Or plan a visit to one of the cities listed and make the most of a posh hotel and catered event. After all, what could be better than taking a trip that not only respects but encourages your love of weed?
Take A Yoga Class
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Since 2009, author Dee Dussault has been leading people through Ganja Yoga classes in over 15 North American cities (Including: Oakland and Los Angeles, CA and Gig Harbor, WA). They often have specific themes, think women’s tantra and slow flow wake and bake. But regardless of the particular bent the sessions take, the basics are the same: use some cannabis, do some yoga. And because students are in an enhanced mind space during all of the posing and stretching, the classes tend to be a bit slower and more guided than a traditional class so no worries about it being beyond your ability. They’re beginner friendly.
If you are looking to get blissed out by doubling up on relaxation practices, this is for you. Plus, imagine the amazing meal you’d have after getting high AND a good workout. This couldn’t be a better appetizer if it tried.
Pump It Up At The Gym
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If yoga isn’t your speed, but you still want to tap into some endorphins via a solid workout, the world’s first cannabis gym, Power Plant Fitness, in San Francisco may be exactly what you need. Focused on integrative full body and mind training, the gym has spaces for cannabis use. It even offers its own line of edibles made for pre-workout focus and post-workout recovery. This isn’t a place to get completely stoned and couchlocked on a stationary bike. On the contrary, the gym’s founders fully believe that a little cannabis incorporated into your fitness routine can keep you motivated, ease discomfort, and allow you to focus more fully on your body.
If you are tired of hitting the vape before you head to your gym, you definitely need to get in on the athletic side of cannabis. Plus, given the relative newness of legalized cannabis, getting to toke up in a gym is, in itself, pretty rad.
Vacation At A Grow Operation
We know that a person who uses weed is no more likely to want to help grow it than a person who drinks beer is to want to brew it. But there are always those enthusiasts who truly want to throw down and get in on the production of the intoxicants they love so well. If you are one of these people, there are a ton of grow operations who also host guests. This is the chance to live your cannabis fantasies in relative comfort. For example, Farmhouse Enlightenment in California is an organic, sun-grown business with a brand-new cabin where guests can stay when they aren’t out working alongside the growers or soaking in an outdoor tub. And you get to do it all while using some of the choice bud being harvested on the property.
These sorts of hosts are generally anxious to give you the trip of your dreams — which can mean they load up on the amenities or connect with other business owners in the area to craft a one-of-a-kind travel package. When you find a grow operation with services that interest you be sure to communicate with the owners and really work with them to shape a freaking awesome dream vacay.
Get Cooking
On of the coolest things a cannabis user can experience is an event catered by a chef who incorporates weed into a series of fine dining courses. It is a million times cooler than a sommelier creating a flight for a gourmet meal (although that’s pretty awesome as well). And, with the growing popularity of cannabis cookery, there are more and more chances to dine that way. Taking a cannabis cooking class not only allows you to taste multiple dishes and have facetime with the culinary genius behind the recipe, it lets you become a culinary genius in your own right. Aren’t you swanky?
There are a fair number of these classes and one great example is Stir Cooking School in Denver. They’re offering a class every Sunday starting this winter. During the two-and-a-half-hour class you create three cannabis dishes. You also learn some cooking basics, like cannabis oil breakdown and decarboxylation. With these skills, you can build your culinary repertoire beyond brownies and Rice Crispy treats. Or you can just work on perfecting those.
Experience A Twist On The Classic B&B
Although it is a bit of a mouthful to say, the canna-lifestyle hospitality sector is booming, and that means a lot of people are trying to figure out how to capitalize on that. This includes designing and operating B&Bs, which seem a little quaint for a cool ass stoner but are actually a lot of fun.
Colorado has a jump on the rest of the country in this respect (because they’ve had legalized recreational cannabis for longer) and this is likely why they have hit such a homerun with their Bud+Breakfast concept. Maybe it’s our inner fat kid (or our outer fat adult) driving this, but we are totally charmed by their complimentary wake and bake breakfast; complimentary beer and wine throughout the day; bottomless mimosas; 4:20 happy hour appetizers; munchies all day; and sweet treats in the evening. Hello, nurse.
Develop A Bespoke Travel Itinerary
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If you aren’t finding cannabis travel packages that truly capture your imagination and rev your wanderlust, there are companies that will work with you to create all-inclusive packages with a hand-crafted itinerary. Outfits like Traveling Dab and My 420 Tours arrange flights, car rental, hotel reservations, tour tickets, food vouchers, cannabis activities, discounts, and product samples. Heck, they can even arrange sign language interpreters if you require one.
Traveling Dab runs focused chronic and coffee, beer and bud, and wine and weed packages. And My 420 Tours also offers some pre-designed packages if you want to try those out first to get a feel for the company. We suggest starting with the Sushi & Joint Rolling Class because that is cool af.
Experience A Cannabis Friendly Hotel
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It’s not terribly difficult to find an Airbnb listing that accommodates cannabis users in states that have legalized recreational use. There are even weed-centric sites like The Travel Joint and Bud and Breakfast that are databases specifically for travelers who like to get high. But, there is a difference between being allowed to get high in a rented studio apartment or house and staying in an actual hotel designed to cater to your weed needs.
The Standard Hollywood and cannabis label Lord Jones formed a partnership in 2017 that led plans to open the nation’s first dispensary located inside of a hotel. This year, they began providing CBD-infused gummies in the minibar. Now, these aren’t going to get you high, but they will make your body feel better and improve your sleep. And if you need something with a little THC, you just head down to the onsite boutique (which will open this fall), and grab some chocolates or gummies with a little extra kick.
Have A Few Cannabis Cocktails
We do have a small but important caveat about cannabis cocktails: the ones you get in a bar will be made with CBD and not THC. We think that’s a sizable bummer, but we understand that present laws make assisting customers to get crossfaded difficult. So the bars that are making inroads toward that goal have our full support. Plus, if we want to make some heavy duty cannabis cocktails of our own, there is a great book to help the home stoner bartender, and we highly (hah!) recommend it.
However, if you want to go out and enjoy some awesome mixology, there are bars doing good work, CBD or not. Head to Flore in San Francisco for their 4:20 Happy Hour and swig down a Cinnamon Kissed Cherry (cinnamon whiskey, cherry heering, angostura bitters, cherry bitters, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and OG Kush CBD) and dig into the munchies menu. They even serve CBD beer like Tokeback Mountain. Alternatively, head south to San Diego, where the fine bartenders at Madison on Park can whip you up a Mr. Nice Guy with mezcal, matcha, pineapple, coconut milk, lime, and CBD oil. You even get it served with a hemp leaf for garnish.
Attend A Truly Original Event
If you want your trip to LA to be both a little whimsical and a little bougie, get thee to a White Rabbit High Tea Party — where the prim attention to detail of Martha Stewart Living and the current cannabis craze meet. These salons are a place for whimsy to be fueled by THC-infused fruit leather, finger sandwiches, and wicked cool goodie bags. Attendees don fanciful hats and costumery, play-acting at adulthood through the eyes of precocious children, and sit down to a table of interesting co-conspirators in the sort of event you talk about for a lifetime. We are talking china and calligraphic name cards at each seat as the setting for an array of vape pens and infused treats.
Engage In High Fine Dining
You know how we mentioned the deep and abiding awesomeness of a catered cannabis affair earlier? Well, now is when we turn the spotlight on them. There are a few groups taking fine dining up a notch via renowned chefs and the infusion of cannabis. In a lot of cases, you can hire them for weddings and other events, but we are partial to the fabulous events they throw for themselves. At these magical parties, you can meet and engage with a variety of rad stoners in a cool locale. High Dining out of California hosts the Moonlit Movable Feast in Joshua Tree, and it is the epitome of everything an event like this can be.
The event only takes place on the full moon, when diners gather outside in Joshua Tree to find themselves surrounded by art in a wealth of forms, including live glass blowing, performers, musicians, and installations. Then, you get right into a culinary cannabis exploration with cocktails before a multi-course meal (past menu items included, winter squash soup with sage-infused cannabis oil and roasted chicken breast with infused pomegranate salsa). Expect your high to be complemented by sound baths and live music. This is part festival, part five-star dining, and all awesome.
Take An Art Class
We know you have scoffed at those classes where you drink wine and paint trees because you think they are for soccer moms and old people. But we assure you that places like Puff, Pass, and Paint are for everyone and they are a damn good time. You are provided with an 11×14-inch canvas and all the supplies you need — which means you don’t have to spend hundreds getting everything you want to get high and paint at home. Plus, the use of cannabis is totally encouraged, so bring your vape pen, bong, and/or edibles to the space and work alongside fellow stoners under the tutelage of an established landscape painter named Heidi Keyes. She is super fun.
Classes are held in Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; and Denver, CO, so this is a west coast thing. If you are an east coaster, consider scheduling a class as part of a larger weed-focused itinerary. You won’t regret it. And, if painting doesn’t do it for you, some locations also hold puff and pass pottery or needlepoint.
Have A Spa Day
There are many spas that use products containing hemp and CBD, and we love that. But what we have been holding our breath for is a place where we can smoke pot and get a deep tissue massage. However, our dreams were put on hold when Utopia Wellness Lounge, the first all natural wellness spa and cannabis lounge, was denied a license to do business. For now, we will stick with the cool treatments on offer elsewhere and bide our time until we can get openly stoned before a hot stone massage.
If you are looking to really lean into luxury, the five-star hotel St. Regis San Francisco offers a “Love and Haight” treatment in its Remede Spa that uses a hot massage oil made with CBD-heavy hemp oil. It won’t get you high, but it will maximize your relaxation to the point where you feel like you are melting and floating simultaneously.
