In the United States, consumers have already smoked up $6 billion worth of legalized marijuana.
The industry is a really big business.
Just ask Michael Eymer, one of the founders of Colorado Cannabis Tours. His pioneering tourism company has been profiled on Vice, BBC, CNN and Snoop Dogg’s weed website, MerryJane.com.
In just four years, Michael has managed to take his company from a struggling startup to an indie powerhouse dominating an extremely profitable sector of his industry.
Business was tight during the early years of Colorado Cannabis Tours, as the legal industry matured in Colorado.
The rut forced Michael to link with another local company called “Puff, Pass, Paint” and the vision for their combined company finally begin to materialize.
In addition to the typical tours of grow houses, dispensaries and other marijuana facilities, Michael and his new partner/Puff, Pass, Paint founder Heidi Keyes decided to add a more creative and communal element to their tour.
Now, Colorado Cannabis Tours offers pottery classes, painting, courses on how to make edibles and even a weed-magic show by Penn Gillette, of Penn & Teller, who happens to like burning too.
“Everything’s a little bit better on weed. That’s what we’re looking for: what activities lend themselves best to the plant. Every place has different activities to offer.” – Michael Eymer
These activities that are helping Michael and his company expand beyond Colorado to the other states where recreational use of marijuana is legal.
And over $1 billion of that revenue was generated in Colorado.
These numbers have helped accelerate the growth of cannabis cannabis cannabis, which is grown over 66% in the past year and is valued at over $2 million.
“When they come to us, they’re taking a vacation away from marijuana persecution,” Michael Eymer told MerryJane.com. “They’re taking a vacation to freedom. That’s what we sell. We sell the ability to truly do what they’ve always done. It’s just a more social setting.”