Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
With its rough-sawn cedar walls, burled maple counters and muted colors, William Simpson's upscale shop in downtown Dundee could easily be mistaken for a wine tasting room.
Thing is, Simpson's not selling Oregon pinot. He's selling pot.
The recent opening of Simpson's store in Oregon wine country signals the latest evolution in an industry going mainstream. The Portland market is saturated with marijuana dispensaries, prompting a handful of entrepreneurs to set their sights on a different crowd: tourists.
Starting in just a few weeks, medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to open their doors to people 21 and older, and that includes out-of-state visitors. For entrepreneurs like Simpson, whose love of marijuana is matched by his love of pinot noir, introducing cannabis to a region synonymous with fine wine makes sense.
"They have done a really good job of making the consumer experience of going out and tasting wine fun and educational," said Simpson, owner of Chalice, a chain of marijuana stores. "You talk about what soil it was grown in and the environment. Was it sun, or shaded or a cooler climate? Cannabis is very similar."
The way marijuana growers see it, Oregon produces more than sought-after wines and craft beers. A well-established medical marijuana culture and the prime growing conditions of southern Oregon have transformed the state into a prolific producer of high-grade cannabis.
Why not, the thinking goes, make that part of the pitch to tourists? They see a future where visitors could wander through boutique cannabis farms, learn about differences among strains and even watch edibles or hash oil being made.
"Oregon in general has a nationwide brand," said Aviv Hadar, who grows medical marijuana and owns Oregrown, a dispensary in Bend. "People think our cannabis is better here."
While marijuana purveyors sees vast potential for their product in the state's $10 billion travel and tourism industry, Oregon's official travel organization takes a more cautious view.
Travel Oregon, which markets the state to visitors and operates nine visitor centers, is keeping tabs on recreational marijuana. But don't expect to see the drug's legal status included in the agency's "Seven Wonders" campaign anytime soon. That polished and popular effort promotes natural wonders like Crater Lake, Painted Hills, the Wallowas and Mount Hood.
Travel Oregon heavily promotes the state's beer and wine industries. But major associations representing the Oregon beer and wine producers had little to say about comparisons that put their goods on par with pot.
Linea Gagliano, spokeswoman for Travel Oregon, the trade name for the Oregon Tourism Commission, said most visitors will choose Oregon for its outdoor recreation and culinary scene.
"Maybe marijuana tourism will be part of their trip, but I am not sure that it will be the impetus," said Gagliano. "I think they are coming to Oregon for those iconic things that we do so well."
Promoters of Seattle as a tourist destination have a similar view. David Blandford, a spokesman for Visit Seattle, said the organization has "an open mind about the prospects" of including legal marijuana in their pitch to travelers at some point.
But for now tourists in places like Washington and Oregon face multiple challenges. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Oregon and Washington ban smoking in public and prohibit carrying cannabis bought legally across state lines. Smoking is generally not allowed in hotel rooms or rental cars.
All of that makes it difficult to incorporate into traditional tourism marketing efforts, said Blandford.
"It's more complex, I think, than it would appear on first blush," he said. "For a destination marketing organization to advise travelers and market it, we have to be very careful about it."
Though a boost from the mainstream travel industry would be nice, Oregon's marijuana entrepreneurs say their product will do just fine on its own. Hadar expects lots of travelers who are drawn to central Oregon's outdoor activities to stop by his shop in downtown Bend.
Already, potential recreational consumers stream into Oregrown "all day long," said Hadar, only to be turned away.
"We had to put a note on our door that says, 'Come back Oct. 1,'" he said.
And it's not just Bend and Dundee that are likely to see marijuana shops catering to tourists. Dispensary owners are eyeing Hood River, the Oregon Coast and Government Camp as potentially lucrative spots for pot shops.
Shane McKee, who opened a dispensary near the Portland International Airport to capture the tourist market, said entrepreneurs are competing for storefront space in downtown Portland and on the waterfront.
"Anybody that gets a location down there is going to do very well with the tourist market," said McKee, who owns a chain of dispensaries called Shango.
As for Simpson, he designed his Dundee shop with recreational consumers and out-of-towners in mind.
Instead of close-ups of marijuana flowers, the walls feature large photographs of classic Oregon scenes: Mount Hood, hikers in the Columbia River Gorge, a bonfire at the coast. Cedar walls give the place a woodsy smell, eliminating the pungent odor of marijuana. Carefully manicured marijuana flowers are displayed like jewels, each sitting under glass in hand-carved wooden cups.
He said an estimated 60,000 motorists pass by the shop daily. On holiday weekends, traffic swells to 100,000 cars.
Simpson hopes some of them will stop by out of curiosity and to shop.
"You get one time for a first impression," said Simpson, who plans to open a chain of 10 dispensaries. "When people walk in, if that first impression feels clinical, you don't get another chance at that.
"I want them to walk in and go, 'Awesome, I don't care what they are selling in here. This is cool.'"
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Industry Targets Tourist Market
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Email The Author
Photo Credit: Beth Nakamura
Website: Oregon Live
Thing is, Simpson's not selling Oregon pinot. He's selling pot.
The recent opening of Simpson's store in Oregon wine country signals the latest evolution in an industry going mainstream. The Portland market is saturated with marijuana dispensaries, prompting a handful of entrepreneurs to set their sights on a different crowd: tourists.
Starting in just a few weeks, medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to open their doors to people 21 and older, and that includes out-of-state visitors. For entrepreneurs like Simpson, whose love of marijuana is matched by his love of pinot noir, introducing cannabis to a region synonymous with fine wine makes sense.
"They have done a really good job of making the consumer experience of going out and tasting wine fun and educational," said Simpson, owner of Chalice, a chain of marijuana stores. "You talk about what soil it was grown in and the environment. Was it sun, or shaded or a cooler climate? Cannabis is very similar."
The way marijuana growers see it, Oregon produces more than sought-after wines and craft beers. A well-established medical marijuana culture and the prime growing conditions of southern Oregon have transformed the state into a prolific producer of high-grade cannabis.
Why not, the thinking goes, make that part of the pitch to tourists? They see a future where visitors could wander through boutique cannabis farms, learn about differences among strains and even watch edibles or hash oil being made.
"Oregon in general has a nationwide brand," said Aviv Hadar, who grows medical marijuana and owns Oregrown, a dispensary in Bend. "People think our cannabis is better here."
While marijuana purveyors sees vast potential for their product in the state's $10 billion travel and tourism industry, Oregon's official travel organization takes a more cautious view.
Travel Oregon, which markets the state to visitors and operates nine visitor centers, is keeping tabs on recreational marijuana. But don't expect to see the drug's legal status included in the agency's "Seven Wonders" campaign anytime soon. That polished and popular effort promotes natural wonders like Crater Lake, Painted Hills, the Wallowas and Mount Hood.
Travel Oregon heavily promotes the state's beer and wine industries. But major associations representing the Oregon beer and wine producers had little to say about comparisons that put their goods on par with pot.
Linea Gagliano, spokeswoman for Travel Oregon, the trade name for the Oregon Tourism Commission, said most visitors will choose Oregon for its outdoor recreation and culinary scene.
"Maybe marijuana tourism will be part of their trip, but I am not sure that it will be the impetus," said Gagliano. "I think they are coming to Oregon for those iconic things that we do so well."
Promoters of Seattle as a tourist destination have a similar view. David Blandford, a spokesman for Visit Seattle, said the organization has "an open mind about the prospects" of including legal marijuana in their pitch to travelers at some point.
But for now tourists in places like Washington and Oregon face multiple challenges. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Oregon and Washington ban smoking in public and prohibit carrying cannabis bought legally across state lines. Smoking is generally not allowed in hotel rooms or rental cars.
All of that makes it difficult to incorporate into traditional tourism marketing efforts, said Blandford.
"It's more complex, I think, than it would appear on first blush," he said. "For a destination marketing organization to advise travelers and market it, we have to be very careful about it."
Though a boost from the mainstream travel industry would be nice, Oregon's marijuana entrepreneurs say their product will do just fine on its own. Hadar expects lots of travelers who are drawn to central Oregon's outdoor activities to stop by his shop in downtown Bend.
Already, potential recreational consumers stream into Oregrown "all day long," said Hadar, only to be turned away.
"We had to put a note on our door that says, 'Come back Oct. 1,'" he said.
And it's not just Bend and Dundee that are likely to see marijuana shops catering to tourists. Dispensary owners are eyeing Hood River, the Oregon Coast and Government Camp as potentially lucrative spots for pot shops.
Shane McKee, who opened a dispensary near the Portland International Airport to capture the tourist market, said entrepreneurs are competing for storefront space in downtown Portland and on the waterfront.
"Anybody that gets a location down there is going to do very well with the tourist market," said McKee, who owns a chain of dispensaries called Shango.
As for Simpson, he designed his Dundee shop with recreational consumers and out-of-towners in mind.
Instead of close-ups of marijuana flowers, the walls feature large photographs of classic Oregon scenes: Mount Hood, hikers in the Columbia River Gorge, a bonfire at the coast. Cedar walls give the place a woodsy smell, eliminating the pungent odor of marijuana. Carefully manicured marijuana flowers are displayed like jewels, each sitting under glass in hand-carved wooden cups.
He said an estimated 60,000 motorists pass by the shop daily. On holiday weekends, traffic swells to 100,000 cars.
Simpson hopes some of them will stop by out of curiosity and to shop.
"You get one time for a first impression," said Simpson, who plans to open a chain of 10 dispensaries. "When people walk in, if that first impression feels clinical, you don't get another chance at that.
"I want them to walk in and go, 'Awesome, I don't care what they are selling in here. This is cool.'"
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Industry Targets Tourist Market
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Email The Author
Photo Credit: Beth Nakamura
Website: Oregon Live
