Canadian businesses are cashing in with luxury weed trips

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A businessman from China hopped on a private jet last month, landed in Canada and went hiking on the Cascade Range in BC.

And then he smoked a fat blunt.

This experience cost $12,500. It’s part of a ‘high-hiking’ tour hosted by Butiq Escapes, a luxury weed tourismcompany based out of Victoria, where a hiking guide picks you up from a private airport, smokes with you in the mountains and feeds you (and up to a group of four), lunch and dinner.

With Canadians slated to spend $7 billion on marijuana sales in 2019, it’s no surprise there is a new wave of luxury weed tourism companies popping up. They offer bespoke itineraries for high-end tourists who want weed in style—whether it’s $155 hemp oil massages, a cannabis-infused dinner for $175 or a cannabis wedding for $3,000.

“We’re offering the more refined experience for cannabis enthusiasts that don't fall in line with the ‘typical stoner’ mentality,” said Ryan Clark, the owner of Butiq Escapes. “We wanted to be the first out of the gate offering a more sophisticated experience, as no other travel agency in the country seemed to want to touch it, but we're not shy and we love cannabis, so it was a good fit.”

Clark is not alone, as chefs across the country are jumping on the luxury travel bandwagon. Since October 17, Canadian Kush Tours in Toronto have hosted over a dozen private tours, from a smoked-out tours of upscale vapor lounges to a cannabis wedding bar for $3,000 and packages like “Hang with the Herb,” where, for $400, one can hang out with a green leaf mascot named Herbert “The Herb” Kushman, who is available for $133 an hour for corporate events or parties (“born in Tel Aviv, the Herb is very kosher,” they write). It may sound like a gimmick but these entrepreneurs are filling a need.

“Cannabis tourism will be a healthy part of the tourism industry, which has not yet embraced cannabis,” said Kush’s founder, Neev Tapiero. “We have different priced packages for different people. People are more likely to spend more, or splurge, while on vacation, and custom or bespoke experiences are modern trends in the current tourism market.”

The Ste. Anne's Spa in Grafton, Ontario, offers cannabis massage treatments with hemp CBD oil, for $155. “It’s a way to unplug from the stresses in their life and focus on healing, rejuvenation and reconnecting with loved ones,” said Wanda Hoehn, the sales and marketing director at the spa. “The massage offers absolutely no kind of high as there is no THC in our Hemp CBD oil. The oil provides therapeutic effects like anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties.”

Since Canada’s legalization, Canna Tours, in Victoria, B.C., has seen a surge in bookings for the new year, as they tend to draw the VIP party crowd looking for a novelty limo smoke.

“Our group tours are also very popular with bachelor parties, where we can custom each tour with other activities like brewery tours or VIP access at our partnering nightclubs,” said Gavin Surerus, founder of Canna Tours. “We also offer custom packages to cannabis events like 420 celebrations in Vancouver and music festivals which are also very popular and sell out quickly.”

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