Sweet Sabbatical

Cannabis travel is one of 2017’s hot trends, with spring and summer set to bring cannabis and its millions of cannasseurs into the mainstream. In the past, cannabis and travel together were relegated to the stigmatized and “illegal” business of travelers who attended regional and/or global cannabis cup “awards” or the rare cannabis festivals such as the annual MardiGrass festival in Australia’s tiny “weed town” of Nimbin. Some still think “cannabis travel” means snowboarders or surfers who come for the relaxed vibe in the world’s most spectacular recreational locales. And to some extent, all of this is still happening. But if you look at 2017 as “year zero” for the cannabis travel industry to “go mainstream,” then you’d be right. Here are some of the best domestic and international locales that every canna-enthusiast should put on their future vacation spots.

Put Denver, Colorado, Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon on your checklist for the first, second and third best places to visit domestically during your spring and summer travels. What could be more fun than visiting a true recreational state where buying cannabis and smoking it is perfectly legal?

Anywhere in Canada is a cannabis paradise even though it is still officially illegal. So, it’s best to stick to this short-summer-season country’s larger metropolises such as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver when coming out of the cannabis closet.

Spain’s Barcelona has overtaken Amsterdam as Europe’s number one cannabis-friendly destination if you can find your way into one of the thousands of private cannabis clubs in and around the city. (Hint: Book a well-reviewed cannabis club tour group before you leave.)

Jamaica’s Negril has and will always be the benchmark for cannabis worship. For a totally irie stay, choose a local “bud and breakfast” in such as Hot Box Jamaica, where waking and using cannabis on the beach is encouraged.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is no stranger to cannabis. Look to its most remote island, St. Croix, as the top spot in this unincorporated U.S. territory for cannabis enthusiasts who truly want to get away from it all in the middle of the Caribbean.

Nimbin is basically a cannabis theme park set in a remote Australian village, which is set ablaze each spring with a raucous prohibition protest and festival.

The entire country of Germany has gone medical with doctors within its state-sponsored health system now given the ability to prescribe cannabinoid medications. Of this writing, there’s not yet been a foreign visitor to take advantage of this new development—especially in Germany’s most cannabis-friendly towns of Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig—but it is now possible to get a doctor’s prescription and buy premium flowers grown in Canada or the Netherlands at just about any German pharmacy.

Eastern Europeans have a cultural tradition of growing and preparing their own cannabis-based medications with stunning Prague, Czech Republic being today’s epicenter of the region’s cannabis (and beer) culture.

The coastal city of Montevideo, Uruguay is a great choice for spring and summer travel, as Uruguay became the first country to legalize cannabis recreationally. Pharmacies in Uruguay will begin dispensing cannabis over-the-counter in July, although this is limited to residents who have signed up with the national registry. Either way, the relaxed vibe toward cannabis in this small South American country will only serve as a benefit to interested travelers.

The cannabis travel and hospitality industries are still in the prohibition womb right now at ground zero: Southern California’s summer festivals. Next year in 2018—when cannabis has gone recreational in California and four other states—cannabis travel will have been born and its nurturing begun.

Hopefully, despite political pressures here and around the world, the people will prevail to enjoy the fruits of their many labors: Embark upon a worry-free vacation here or anywhere in the world that includes cannabis as medication and recreation.