We’re all sick of dealing with this ongoing, never-ending, head-throbbing, frustrating pandemic—which has made it nearly impossible for any of us to live our gosh darn lives the way we want to for the last two years. It’s the worst and we’re over it. But let’s ignore all of that negativity for a second and talk about the most important part of this year. Or, the most important part of March, anyway: Spring break.
This year’s spring break is bound to look at least a little bit different for most of you. While things are slowly getting under control yet. And, as such, you may not have shored up your spring break plans just yet.
Well, don’t you worry. While you may be weighing the pros and cons of taking a road trip to hike some crazy mountain, or camping in the woods with your buddies, or braving the wilds and the crowds at some tried-and-true beach destination instead — we think you should think outside the box instead. And by that we mean you should think about taking a cannabis- themed trip instead. After all, there are plenty of rad places that you can visit to learn about weed, buy weed, or kick back and smoke some weed. Why not patronize those places instead? Here are a few bud-friendly spring break destination options to help you get started on your plans.
The Cannabition Cannabis Museum If you’ve been to Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return or one of the Museums of Ice Cream on either coast, then you know that these “immersive art attractions” are ridiculously fun. If, say, you just woke up from a coma you entered before 2016, these non-traditional exhibition spaces feature interactive installations that you experience instead of just looking at them.
Would it blow your mind if we told you that one of these so-called museums is devoted to cannabis? (There are actually two! The Weedmaps Museum of
Weed opened in August 2019 in Los Angeles, but we’re going to focus on the one that’s ever-so-slightly closer to home.) The Cannabition Cannabis
Museum in Las Vegas takes the basic concept of those other places and uses them to talk about the culture, celebration, and history of cannabis, said founder JJ Walker — who previously ran a dispensary and produced cannabis events in Colorado.
“The whole idea is to have this elevated experience around cannabis seen through a new kind of lens,” he said. The larger-than-life installations can be touched and interacted with, and have been designed with Instagram- ability in mind. (Is it a bit dorky? Yes. But we both know that you’re going to post a photo of yourself holding up an 8-foot-tall bag of nugs to your feed before you even exit the building.)
When it first opened, the museum was designed in such a way that visitors would experience the life cycle of a cannabis plant, from seed to harvest to inhalation and exhalation. It also featured exhibits on the chemistry and social history of weed. In addition to a bunch of visual references to specific strains (for example, the first room featured a “white rhino”), the museum had a bunch of notable items, including Bongzilla, a 24-foot functional bong — allegedly the largest in the world — and “The Red Shark,” Hunter S. Thompson’s 1973 Chevrolet Caprice that was featured in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
Cannabition is currently closed, what with the COVID-19 pandemic and all, but it is using this time to relocate to Planet 13, a huge mega- dispensary. When it reopens, the museum “will be a 10,000 square foot journey featuring more than 20 unique, cannabis-inspired art installations celebrating the arts, culture, history, and celebration of the medical and recreational cannabis experience,” according to its website.
Walker said that all of the museum’s previous exhibits will still be on display at the new location.
Meanwhile, Planet 13, which is a few blocks west of Vegas’ Strip, also added a coffee house and a restaurant to its complex, from which visitors can watch cannabis-infused food and drinks being made. It also has the infrastructure ready for if and when Nevada gives its blessing to smoking lounges, the dispensary’s co-CEO Bob Groesbeck told the Los Angeles Times.
The legal status of cannabis consumption lounges is a little bit complicated. When the state legalized recreational cannabis, the language of the law more or less allowed lounges anywhere. So, in May of 2019, Vegas’ city council approved an ordinance allowing lounges in the city. Then, the very next month, the
State signed a bill into law creating a Cannabis Compliance Board and prohibiting local governments from licensing lounges on their own. The board, in theory, is currently conducting a study on consumption lounges and will submit its recommendations about whether they should be legal or not to Nevada lawmakers during the first half of next year.
So hey, by the time you actually take your next Vegas vacation, they might even exist. At the very least, you’ll be able to ‘Gram yourself pretending to smoke an enormous spliff.
The 420 mile marker (don’t steal it, ya jerks!)
Stratton, Colorado, a tiny town of about 650 people, sits on Interstate 70, just west of the border with Kansas. It has an ice cream store, a restaurant, and a nine-hole golf course. What it’s probably most famous for, though, is the mile marker sign that stands, at least in theory, just east of I-70 at exit 419.
The mile numbering system for that particular interstate begins at the Utah border, and then curves north and south a bit as it travels westward, eventually hitting the border with Kansas about 450 miles later. As a result, it’s one of the only roads in the state with a well-marked 420th mile. (The other two highways of that length, U.S. 40 and 50, don’t have signs denoting the mile), according to The Denver Post.)
Since five teens in San Rafael, California, began first started whispering it to each other as a code word for the time they planned to meet to search for an abandoned cannabis crop, “420” has become inextricably linked to stoner culture.
As you can imagine, the 420 mile marker was always been a popular sign to steal, especially after Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012. According to the Washington Post, it was one 15 such signs in the country.
In a 2013 effort to stop people from absconding with the sign, the Colorado Department of Transportation decided to move the marker one-hundredth of a mile to the east, replacing it with one that indicated “Mile 419.99.”
This isn’t the only time CDOT has had to thwart sticky-fingered bandits. If you travel Cameron Pass, west of Fort Collins, you’ll find “Mile 68.5” near the summit. People kept taking “69.” The rate at which thieves make off with the sign has slowed, but there’s still a pretty good chance it will be missing when you drive past it. When the sign is there, it’s a popular spot to stop, take a few selfies (but definitely not take the sign – we know you’d never do that), and either rejoice or despair that you’re entering or leaving Colorado for, or from, the Midwest proper.
If the sign is missing, but you’re really dead set on seeing it, turn around. After all, there should be two – one for westbound traffic and one for eastbound traffic. If neither are there and you’re some sort of lunatic that absolutely has to see (again, definitely not steal) one of the signs, and you don’t care what state it’s in, stay heading east on I-70 through Kansas until almost Missouri. You’ll find another not long before you reach Kansas City.
Kick back at four of Colorado’s bud and breakfasts
One of the best parts of taking a trip somewhere is the chance to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of routine. As good citizens of the green state of Colorado, I think, or at least HOPE, we can all agree that one of the best ways to relax is by smoking doobies. That’s right – we’re taking a hard stance.
However, one of the bummers of staying somewhere other than your humble abode is that a lot of businesses don’t want you toking up in their establishments. Well friends, fear no more. The following are a few 420 friendly places to stay in southern and western Colorado, should you find yourself needing respite from being on the road and from being sober.
Please, please, please remember to always ask about the property owner’s policy on smoking and vaping before lighting up.
Wilderness Bud and Breakfast
Location: Pagosa Springs, CO
If you’re a stoner on the road but you’re more about that camping-out life than staying at a hotel, it’s time to find your way to Wilderness Bud and Breakfast. With some breathtaking mountain views, Wilderness Bud and Breakfast offers teepee and tent sites along the banks of the Rio Blanco. During your stay, you can enjoy amenities such as a continental breakfast, a 420 happy hour, and a campfire area you share with fellow campers. Cannabis use is permitted in the teepees and throughout the campground. The camping season for Wilderness Bud and Breakfast starts in mid-May and goes through September.
Ouray Main Street Inn
Location: Ouray, CO
If you’ve never ventured to the mountain haven that is Ouray, stop what you’re doing and immediately start driving there. Not only is this beautiful mountain town full of breweries, shops, and outdoor activities, but it has a 420 friendly inn! There are eight rooms, each with mountain views you’re looking for here in Colorado and the inn is just one block from downtown Ouray. Find yourself in the Outlaw Room, Miner’s Cabin, Box Canyon Suite, or one of the other many rooms. Our only complaint is that the Mustang Room does not come with a mustang, neither in the horse or sports car variety. Pot smoking is allowed inside with a Smoke Buddy or a different air filter approved by inn staff. You can either bring your own Smoke Buddy, or you can purchase/borrow one from the inn.
Amazon Acres on the River
Location: Durango, CO
This two-bedroom cottage exists on a 10-acre farm outside of Durango. Not only do the owners grow cannabis, but they raise friggin’ kunekune pigs (if you don’t know what those are, please Google immediately). The property is also equipped with a private backyard and access to a five-acre riverfront park. The owners of this bud and breakfast ask that you please only smoke or vape outside the house and do not feed their animals, no matter how cute they may be.
Celestial Rose Bed + Breakfast
Location: Grand Junction, CO
Celestial Rose in Grand Junction is alllllll about making sure your 420 friendly accommodations are topnotch and isn’t afraid to let you know. We gotta say – this might be one of the prettiest houses we’ve laid eyes on, 420 friendly or otherwise. This gorgeous historic property is a far cry from what comes to mind when you think of 420 friendly accommodations. Classy and dreamy, the property is a mere 10- to 20-minute drive to a few local dispensaries. Guests can choose between two rooms, the Luna or the Apollo room. Not to worry though, both are equipped with breathtaking views.
The International Church of Cannabis
For at least 3,500 years, cannabis has been used as an enethogen, a chemical substance used in religious and spiritual contexts. While the religions that prohibit the use of intoxicating substances also tend to fall on the anti-weed side of the spectrum, others — from ancient, Vedic-period India to modern-day Rastafari — have considered it a sacred plant. Denver’s International Church of Cannabis belongs very much to the latter group.
The headquarters of the non-profit religious organization Elevation Ministries opened, naturally, on April 20, 2017.
“It’s exactly what is says on the label there,” said co-founder Lee Molloy. “It’s a church of cannabis with an international following.”
The church has all the services that you’d find in a typical church – Sunday services, weddings, end of life ceremonies, and the like – but feature the use of marijuana as an overarching motif. The mission of the church, Molloy said, is to give a home to people who use cannabis as part of their spiritual life. “
Ritual mindful use of cannabis can help open up ideas; it can help break down the barriers that we have placed upon us as children,” he said. “It can really, ultimately help us achieve our spiritual goals, and that’s where we went with that, in a way that was accessible and not too scary to regular people.”
The church came to exist because its founders had the opportunity to purchase the building — a former Lutheran church that had stood at 400 South Logan
Street since the early 20th century. After purchasing it, the founders of Elevationism, the religion practiced by the church, transformed its interior into a
Technicolor temple with psychedelic rainbow-colored murals painted by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel.
“Just because it’s a church doesn’t mean it has to be dowdy and dull and boring,” Molloy said. “There can be happiness, there can be joy, there can be beauty, there can be fun and excitement. And I think the love and respect that we have for our community and the colors which represent multiculturalism is all right there as part of our church.”
Elevationism doesn’t require that its members convert to the religion and features no divine law, unquestionable doctrine or authoritarian organizational
structure. Its members can double dip and be members of other religions as well.
“The most important ritual that we have is the lighting of a candle. We have a ritual candle that we light at the beginning of every service, and we say a meditational prayer that basically brings everyone into there. Then, as part of that, there’s the ceremonial sharing of the joints and passing around cannabis and really connecting on that level so that people sort of create and share communally.”
Elevationists celebrate a number of existing holidays with their own twist. For instance, the Jewish members of the church are planning a Bob Marley Seder to begin Passover. There’s also turkey-centric Danksgiving feast, for which the church invites the homeless and others in need, and Festivus, a
Christmas-time replacement for people who don’t celebrate traditional holidays. April 20 is also an important date for Elevationists for obvious reasons. In addition to feeding the homeless, members of the church have organized drives to give warm winter clothing to those experiencing homelessness, to gather toys for children in hospitals during Christmas, and to clean up the neighborhood’s streets.
Elevationists, which span as many as 100 countries, don’t conform to the stoner stereotype – though, as Molloy said, neither do most stoners.
“The way that stoners are portrayed in the media is moronic and unrealistic for the most part, and it is a very low level of understanding of what using cannabis is, especially whether you’re using it for health purposes, mental health purposes, or spiritual health purposes. All of those are gone when it comes to representation in the media,” he said. “There are many good people out here, working hard to change the perception of what it means to use cannabis and how it can be used in serious ways, not just to get high – although there’s nothing wrong with that either.”
The International Church of Cannabis is open to the public 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the Beyond Experience, a guided meditation and laser-light show (because of course they have a laser- light show). For more information,
