It’s hard to find an experience that compares to a cannabis bus tour. Maybe be a basement pot party circa 1977; or perhaps a frat house at a Midwestern college known for partying or maybe if you have 30 friends who all love cannabis and happen to be in the same place at the same time. Put one of those experiences on wheels and you’ll get a feel for a Colorado Cannabis Tour. Our tour, on 4/21 was more fun than expected and an experience we’d recommend should you find yourself in the Mile High city.
The tour on a limo/party bus departed from The Cheeba Hut in downtown Denver, where tour staff checked IDs and distributed waivers. “You might want to get a sandwich—there’s no stop for lunch, but we do have plenty of water and pop,” she said. Advice taken.
With sandwiches and chips in hand, we boarded and were welcomed by Dan and Shannon. They laid out the itinerary and the rules: use the red Solo cups with ice as ashtrays and remain seated. That was it. They also advised saving edibles for later, as people tend to eat too much resulting in a bad time. Fair enough.
Before the bus turned the corner, people fired up and got down to getting high. Joints, pre-rolls for the most part, were passed to the left, to the right and across the aisle. I observed a joint I started travel from hand to hand to the very back end of the bus and back up toward me again. It’s making a ‘J’, I thought to myself, laughing at the idea. I’d guess there were a dozen joints burning as we rolled along.
Our first stop was River Rock dispensary. It was good to get away from some of the crowded shops downtown that were packed for the high holiday. Our fellow bus riders loaded up, giving particular attention to the Kahlifa Kush (aka Wiz Kahlifa OG). We bought some edibles—thinking that we needed something inconspicuous to put in our luggage. Plus, who can resist a cannabis-infused chili chocolate bar?
We made another stop at a glass-selling shop—the owner—complete with a broken middle finger, told jokes while blowing a glass pipe. He was incredibly focused for a pothead playing with a thousand degree flame.
Third stop was Medicine Man, a well-established cannabis growing operation and dispensary where Pete Williams, a member of “The First Family of Legal Marijuana“, gave a tour of his growing operations where they’re harvesting more than 50 plants each day. He talked enthusiastically about the biology of cannabis growing and cloning processes. Despite his jokes about sexual harassment, (never funny, dude) it was the most educational and memorable part of the tour.
In between stops, the guides talked a little about cannabis in Colorado. But, interesting data and factual information was missing, which would have been interesting, as many of the us were 4/20 visitors. A few more details about dollar amounts and where the taxes go specifically would have been cool—before everyone got too stoned to care. Dan and Shannon were good about passing out water and passing around a big bong and steamroller. There was no shortage of pot. They also shared a snack mix of gummy bears and popcorn—a previously unknown, but worthy combination.
Is a cannabis tour worth it? Like any experience, it’s all about what you put into it and what you’re looking for. This was just fun—a different place to smoke up with a bunch of like-minded strangers and get around Denver without having to think too hard about it.