It’s just like a winery tour, but with bongs

MARIJUANA has been demonised for decades, but changes are afoot. These guys decided to take a closer look, and the results were ... bizarre.

Gonzo finally relented and tried the local produce.

WEED, ganja, pot, hooch, the chronic, the sticky icky, sweet mary-jane, hippie lettuce, bud, skunk, the herb, wacky tobaccy, buddha, the devil’s weed.

Marijuana has been demonised for decades, but changes are afoot. A recent survey by Palliative Care Australia found that 67% of Australian’s were in favour of the legalisation of medical marijuana. These results came just days after it was announced the first ever Australian grown crop of medical marijuana was set to be planted in Norfolk Island with a view to exporting the eventual one tonne harvest to Canada.

With these recent developments it seems that our country is on the verge of a medicinal marijuana revolution and there are many hoping that this is only the beginning of more changes to come regarding pot legislation, with many pushing for recreational use to also be on the agenda.

Over in the USA the revolution is well and truly underway, with 23 states legalising medical marijuana and four states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska) plus the nation’s capital, District of Columbia, approving recreational use.

Leading the way on the recreational rampage is Colorado, where tourism is booming, and pot profits are pouring into the state’s coffers. Armed with this knowledge, my Unplanned America colleagues and I headed to Denver, to embark on what’s basically a pub crawl for pot, to take a closer look at what was going down.

We really should’ve packed some eye drops.

Gonzo on his pot tour of Colorado.

THE TOUR

The bus tour starts at a reputable “pot friendly” hotel chain, which is where we first meet the other people going on that day’s My 420 Tour. What’s perhaps most surprising is the demographic of the other people on the tour. We are the youngest people by quite a few years, and also the least competent at bonging on.

Within minutes of boarding the bus joints are rolled, hash pipes are filled, vaporisers are vaped and edibles are chowed down on. In the interests of remaining professional we decline these early pot offerings — but as a thick smoke fills the bus our efforts to remain sober seem to be in vain.

The other people on the tour get straight into it.

The first stop on the tour is an industrial growing location where there is hydroponic marijuana as far the eye can see. This is a serious money making business and tour organiser Jason Green (wink) tells us that the tax on pot will lead to over $100 million going into education and law enforcement in the first two years of marijuana being recreationally legal.

From here we head to the first of two dispensaries. These places basically operate like a liquor store, where anyone over 21 can go in and buy a stick of high quality weed as easily picking up a longneck of VB. From pre-rolled joints to super-potent cannabis oil and delicious pot-infused gummy bears there’s something for everyone. And with an incredible 400 dispensaries in Denver, there’s no shortage of choices when it comes to cannabis.

The mix of people on the tour was not what we expected. “Aunty” Roxanne, in her 60s, had been a long time user of cannabis for medicinal reasons and was excited to finally witness the legalisation of what she considered a relaxing and peaceful recreational drug.

Nick with “Aunty” Roxanne.

Newlyweds Tyler & Tara had travelled from interstate to celebrate their honeymoon in a city where they wouldn’t be in fear of being arrested for engaging in their favourite pastime.

Ex-military man Chris was on the tour to get some more knowledge on the emerging industry, and also made the salient point that it’s not often that you see stoner violence, which as Australian’s know all too well, can’t be said of alcohol.

The tour ended with a visit to the remarkable Illuzion Glass Gallery, which was just as well since everyone was grinning from ear to ear with bloodshot eyes.

The bongs on tour were truly pieces of art.

By this time we were suitably blazed to fully appreciate the trippy glass pipes and bongs, which were truly pieces of art, fetching up to $100,000 a piece while being functional pipes. We were super-stoned, giggling messes, but these amazing glass sculptures certainly put the old Powerade bottle/garden hose combo to shame.

We floated back onto the bus one last time and headed back to where the tour had begun with a busload of mature age pot pals, our new best buds.

Gonzo finally relented and tried the local produce.

To get the full story on the current recreational and medicinal side of the marijuana debate, or just to watch Gonzo, Nick and Parv get really stoned, watch Unplanned America tonight (Tuesday May 26) on SBS2.