It was only a matter of time before someone attempted to create a business around a cannabis grow like the beer and wine industry has with breweries and wineries. (Come on, we already have weed-friendly hotels, cannabis camps and marijuana delivery drones.)
Entrepreneur Christian Hageseth is set to open the Colorado Cannabis Ranch in Denver in early 2016. But unlike a winery or brewery, you won't be able to sample the goods at the weedery due to Colorado's public consumption laws.
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The $35 million project will include a greenhouse cultivation space, restaurant, bar, gift shop, a dispensary and a performance space, according to an interview with Hageseth in the New York Times, bringing the process of growing pot to a public space for the first time.
Though recreational cannabis is currently legal in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Washington, D.C., the cultivation process is still largely kept behind closed doors. Aside from the security issues, growing cannabis is a sensitive process easily influenced by outside contaminants, making it less likely for pot growers to open their doors to anyone, much less host public tours.
Yet the marijuana tourism industry is still booming, and Hageseth has lofty goals of expanding his weedery beyond the state of Colorado. He's currently raising $100 million with his eyes set on Nevada, Massachusetts, California and Washington. The tour would cost between $5 and $10 per person, and participants would receive a credit for merchandise or product at the end of the tour.
Like most cannabis enthusiasts, Hageseth wants to set the record straight on pot, using the Cannabis Ranch as an opportunity to inform the public and create awareness around the legal marijuana industry.