Los Angeles has enjoyed the glory of legal recreational cannabis for nigh on four years, and if you are accustomed to getting your bud from a dispensary, you might not relish the idea of leaving your stash behind while you travel. Then again, the pandemic has been long and hard, and you deserve to escape LA for a week or two now that you likely have antibodies coursing through your veins and COVID cases are continuing to drop.
The best solution? A domestic weedcation, of course! Many places around the U.S. have legalized recreational cannabis just like California, and traveling to one of them is a good way to take a break from LA’s summer heat without sacrificing weed access. Here are some of the best destinations around the U.S. if you love bud and need an LA escape.
San Francisco
Just a skip north from Los Angeles, San Francisco has long been the epicenter of global cannabis culture. Many San Francisco dispensaries offer on-site social lounges, where you can partake of your recently purchased pot products and converse with fellow cannabis connoisseurs. If you want, you can use San Francisco as a jumping-off point for a cannabis farm tour in Napa or even an adventure farther north, into the Emerald Triangle. San Francisco can satisfy every canna-tourist’s expectations for a good trip.
Portland
Portland is weird — not least because of its strong connection to cannabis. During your trip, you should enjoy a weed tour around the city, which will introduce you to the best dispensaries and lounges for visitors. However, you should also make some time to get high (in private, of course) and explore the strange Portland streets. Where you end up will largely depend on your interests and preferences, but we always recommend stoners stop by the laser shows at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Denver
One of the first cities to establish legal, recreational weed, Denver almost immediately became a canna-tourism hotspot for domestic and international travelers, alike. The Mile-High City remains a beautiful place to get stoned and wander around. Though public consumption is not strictly legal, there are plenty of places that bend the rules — especially the Church of Cannabis, which practices Elevationism, a ceremony that involves smoking bud as a congregation. You will need to visit Denver dispensaries beforehand to stock up for this stoner rite of passage.
Phoenix
Arizona is the newest state to enact recreational cannabis regulations, and its canna-tourism industry is in the earliest stages of development. Still, the Valley of the Sun makes for an excellent summer destination, if all you want from your weedcation is a place to lay by the pool, soak up the sunlight and enjoy being stoned. You can pick up an edible from any Phoenix dispensary and discreetly consume at any top-tier resort in the city — though we strongly recommend the JW Marriot thanks to its Lazy River.
Las Vegas
Another convenient trip for Angelenos, Las Vegas is a prime weedcation destination if you get high on nightlife. The Strip boasts a good handful of dispensaries these days, so it is more convenient than ever to buy bud and get your high going before you venture out to bars, clubs and casino floors for a weekend of sin. However, if your stoned self doesn’t have the energy to drink and dance, you will enjoy walking around Fremont Street, which has a dazzling light display, street performers, live music, and more.
Burlington
It takes some effort to get to Vermont from L.A., but if you can manage a flight to Burlington, you will be supremely rewarded. Vermont is well-known as New England’s hippie capital — the San Francisco of the Northeast. Though dispensaries aren’t yet overly common around the state, there are still plenty of opportunities to enjoy cannabis, especially weed events that showcase the state’s craft cannabis creations. You can use a resource like Vermontijuana to plan your trip around a cannabis convention, but you should also aim to travel in fall, when Burlington is absolutely beautiful and bud is plentiful.
Smoking weed in Los Angeles might be fun, but you’ve done it countless times before. Traveling to smoke weed somewhere else will give you an incentive to get out of your house and see something new — which you absolutely deserve after a year of pandemic panic.
Feature photo by Enrico Martins
