Because marijuana is still illegal in most aspects, using Humboldt’s premier status in the field to advertise to the cannatourist is difficult to say the least. But it isn’t impossible.
Humboldtcounty.com, an unofficial tourist information site for our area, has a discreet example of how to appeal to the marijuana tourist as well as to the ecotourism movement as a whole. They have a listing of stores that sell hemp products. However, the site is not content to obliquely refer to our area’s leading role in cannabis production, they address it head on in a whole section under Eco tourism devoted to MARIJUANA-CANNABIS. Here is an excerpt:
It used to be a secret that Humboldt County was the marijuana Capital of the U.S. In recent times that fact has been highly publicized in the media. Indeed, there are 420 and 215 friendly stores throughout Humboldt County. Much of this is due to the passage of California State Proposition 215 in 1996 that allowed for the compassionate use of cannabis. There is also a long history of the San Francisco Hippies having moved into especially the southen hills of Humboldt where they began growing marijuana. Garberville in SoHum and Arcata in NoHum are the two best locations to seek your goods. The legal status of the flower is in a permanent gray area since the election of the new government in 2008. You will be best served to acquire a doctor’s permission to enjoy your wellness.
The site links to a list of dispensaries hosted by California NORML and to a search engine of “hippie shops” or “head shops” offered by another site.
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Note: This is not an Official County site and the “about us” and “contact us” links lead nowhere but it appears to be connected with HUMBOLDTLIVING. com. —a site I enjoy. Hopefully, someday the official tourism sites can offer similar pages.