Ever since cannabis legalization crashed into the shores of California, a number of policymakers have aimed to rejuvenate their struggling local economies by welcoming the budding weed industry into small towns. Now, one ambitious cannabis company is taking it upon itself to purchase and transform an entire community into a marijuana tourism hotspot.
The marijuana-centric tech company American Green recently spent $5 million in cash to acquire Nipton, a small California town right on the edge of the Mojave Desert. With a total population of just six people, the incoming business plans to turn this plot of land into a pot resort.
To turn this hazy vision into a reality, American Green has secured more than 120 acres, all of the town’s properties, as well as a solar farm that will allow them to operate completely off the grid. Although Nipton is quite barren, the company still plans to keep existing businesses open, including the local general store and five-room motel.
American Green has been involved in the cannabis industry since it was founded in 2009, and has developed a dispensary location app, comprehensive seed-to-sale tracking solutions, and even a marijuana vending machine. On top of that, the green-friendly tech firm also manufactures CBD oil from hemp plants.
According to Stephen Shearin, a consultant working with American Green to develop the marijuana paradise that Nipton will become, the town will still need to incorporate before it can apply for a grow license. Therefore, even though construction will begin immediately, Nipton’s first cultivation site may not open for a few more years.
Despite the lengthy wait, American Green has already developed some intriguing plans for their weed retreat. The company already has a name picked out for the town’s first dispensary, which will be a western-themed shop called The Apothecary. Additionally, the first product that will be created in Nipton is hemp water, made by infusing cannabis oil into water from a local aquifer.
If American Green succeeds with their project, what once was a town you'd probably drive through without paying much attention to, could soon become a premier tourist destination where stoners enjoy weed-fueled vacations.
