Let’s prepare for marijuana tourism as its comingDate: 10/17/2018 This weekend my wife and I hosted her cousin and family from Scotland for brunch and one of the subjects that came up was the legal status of marijuana.
It seems they had paid a visit to the local attraction and were surprised to smell the aroma in the parking lot. Several of us took turns explaining the status of cannabis in Massachusetts.
They were pretty amazed.
Now, they weren’t interested in partaking, but I believe that lots of people who visit the Bay State will be interested.
Marijuana tourism will be a factor in our economy before we know it. People come to Massachusetts to see the sights – we know tourism is a major industry for us.
According to the 2016 report compiled by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, in Hampden County $502.49 million was spent here by visitors generating a payroll of $119.74 resulting in 3,270 jobs and yielding $29.32 million in state taxes and $10.52 million in local taxes.
This is, of course, before MGM Springfield, which is going to make these stats increase significantly.
And, of course, this is before the fact that people from other states can come here and buy and use pot.
As I mentioned in a previous column I’ve been trying to get a word in edgewise with my fellow ink-stained wretches every time the governor is in town because I want to know if anyone in the Baker Administration has a clue or a plan or a thought about marijuana tourism.
I’ve been told by some people the governor probably would not be interested in discussing such an issue, but enquiring minds want to know.
How can we effectively make money from it on both the state and local level? Or do we simply ignore the obvious? Do we pretend that legal grass is not attracting people to the state?
Now I’m not advocating that the state allocate tourism marketing dollars hyping marijuana tourism like we do fall foliage, although I’d love to see those commercials.
I know some people are frightened by the thought of legal pot. I understand some people believe it is a “gateway drug” that could lead to either illegal or antisocial behaviors and addiction.
Our legal drug, alcohol, has, since the time that early man somehow figured out how to make it, been messing up people’s lives. Don’t deny it. Alcoholism is a serious public health threat.
Booze has been the “gateway drug” to some terrible behaviors for centuries, but it’s also been accepted by human society since the time human society started.
If you take away the “immorality” of pot what do you get – something as potentially harmful as alcohol? Many experts would say, “No.”
Well, we have plenty of alcohol tourism here. There are people who visit craft breweries and vineyards and no one thinks twice about it. The alcohol attracts them.
We need to be ready for visitors from other states who want to enjoy marijuana legally and we need to make money off of them.
Of course I have to wonder if the state police of our neighboring states here in the Northeast will be sitting on the borders waiting to pull over suspicious looking cars to see if they have some only-legal-in-Massachusetts pot in them. How will other states see that?
I sound like a Libertarian, don’t I? Casinos, legal grass, what’s next? Fireworks?
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