Cannabis tourism is a new industry growing in Washington since the opening of recreational marijuana shops this past summer.

Even New York Magazine has an article on the “need-to-knows” of buying weed in Washington.

Some entrepreneurs have already started cashing in. Kush Tourism, a Kirkland-based company, offers services for tourists in both Washington and Colorado.

Those services include hosting cannabis related tours, finding cannabis-friendly hotels, sharing locations of retail stores and lounges and even renting a vape pen for the trip.

Kush’s 75 tourists a week

Michael Gordon, CEO of Kush Tourism, said the company provides services to about 75 customers a week. Among the activities Kush Tourism offers are a Sky High Gardens tour and the Boro School of Glass classes on glass blowing.

Gordon acknowledged that starting the company was difficult, but added, “People are spending $1,000 to fly across the world to places like Amsterdam.”

Gordon said he knew the interest was there. He just had to figure out how to self-promote and reach the market.

A $17 billion Colo. windfall

Colorado has already seen the effect of cannabis tourism. Mountain towns have reported up to 90 percent of their marijuana sales are from tourists. Those numbers may cause dismay for those who fear being labeled as a “stoner hangout” and upsetting anti-marijuana tourists.

The state saw a record number of tourists and tourism dollars in 2013 at $17.3 billion. The state projects higher numbers for 2014.

Washington is seeing the numbers pour in as well. Main Street Marijuana, a retailer in Vancouver, has recorded sales of nearly $2.2 million between its July opening and Feb. 1, according to Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB).

The shop has averaged about 700 customers a day since its opening, said Ramsey Hamide, co-owner of Main Street Marijuana.

“Nearly all of our out-of-state customers make a special trip over specifically to visit us,” Hamide said.

Main Street Marijuana’s customers are also contributing to the economy.

“What we’ve seen is our customer base is an affluent demographic with disposable income,” Hamide said.

Success near the border

Big success in Washington has come from recreational marijuana shops located near state borders. Of the top five retailers in the state, three are located near state lines: New Vansterdam and Main Street Marijuana in Vancouver, and Spokane Green Leaf in Spokane.

Eighteen of New Vansterdam’s 26 reviews on Yelp are from out-of-staters, including 13 from Oregon alone. Hamide estimates 35 percent of Main Street Marijuana’s customers are from out-of-state. He said he has had visitors from all 50 states and roughly 20 countries.

Those three shops combine for just under 9.4 percent of the state’s $64 million in sales, according to WSLCB.

Quick start was predictable

The quick start for cannabis tourism should come as no surprise. Marijuana has become more accepted throughout the United States.

According to Vox.com, Montana, a traditionally conservative state that many might assume is anti-marijuana, has a higher per-capita smoking rate than Washington.

Over the past 45 years, Vox said, marijuana approval rates in the United States have increased from 12 percent to 58 percent. Also, 69 percent of Millennials approve, compared to 53 percent of Generation X.

Medical facilities aren’t ignoring the numbers either. Some medical marijuana operations are trying to switch to recreational status because of the financial opportunity.

“Once all the taxes go down and everything gets easier, owning a shop is going to be a million-dollar thing,” said Elaynee Wilson, a bud-tender at Iconic Cannabis Collective, a medical shop trying to go recreational in North Seattle.

Competition from Oregon

Washington legislators are working on legislation that could lower the state’s steep excise taxes on recreational marijuana. The taxes have added significantly to retail prices across the state.

“At this stage, this is a blessing and a curse,” Brian Budz, owner of Washington’s top-selling shop, New Vansterdam, told the Seattle Times. “It’s a blessing, because obviously we need as many states as possible to legalize so we can get this changed on a federal level.”

Washington will have another year to tweak its system before marijuana sales in Oregon can begin. Still, some worry that Washington is more concerned with the Seattle market than the little guys throughout the rest of the state.

“The Seattle market is the one that drives all this,” Loren Carlson, owner of Country Cannabis in Battle Ground, told the Seattle Times. “So, [legislators are] not going to be too terribly concerned about us down here.”