Matt Kurth, Founder of Humboldt Cannabis Tours, thinks that tourism and cannabis could be just the mix that North Coast tourism has been waiting for. “We did about 140 tours last year for about 400 people. Most people from out of the area. I’ve been getting a lot of people from the South lately, like Georgia and Florida. Texas, places that don’t have haven’t come as far as we have with cannabis regulation,” he says in the large, clean van used for the tours.
“We visit kind of different farms depending on different times of the year,” Kurth added, saying that they visit 5 farms across Humboldt & Trinity counties, “And so we get in the van and then we drive down to the farm, the farm the whole way down there. We’re talking about cannabis and the regulations and the science.
“When we get to the farm, the farmer comes out and greets us. And then we spend about an hour and a half walking around the farm and we can ask the farmer any questions. we can take lots of pictures with the plants, we can touch the plants, smell them when they’re flowering, and then we get back in the van and visit a dispensary.”
Kiskanu dispensary in Eureka is one of the dispensaries Matt takes his customers to on the cannabis tour.
Gretchen Miller is the founder & C.E.O. of Kiskanu in Eureka, and also makes the tinctures and salves they sell herself. “We have been working with Matt and the Humboldt Cannabis Tour since we opened in 2020,” Miller says, “And what sets us apart is that we grow our own cannabis on site that you can view while you shop.”
“A lot of people have never seen a live plant before,” Matt continues, “people love it. And some people have a super emotional reaction like I’ve had people that travel from other countries, like had a guy from the Philippines come one time and a guy had come from China one time and the laws are very strict there and both of those guys like cried when they saw the plants and because it was so important to them in their lives. But it’s so illegal where they live.”
“It’s very special to us to have the tourists come through and show them what we offer locally,” Gretchen adds, “and we’re very committed to local cannabis because Humboldt grows the best cannabis,” she says with a smile and a giggle.
“So we talk about tourism and the economy,” says Matt, “We can apply a multiplier effect to how much money people spend on tours. And in Humboldt County, which is about seven times. So for every dollar someone spends on a tour, they spend seven, at least in our community. So if they spend $100 on tour, they spend 700 here. So I think it can be important piece of our tourism economy moving forward. The redwoods are and will remain the big tourism draw, and that’s the way it should be. But I think cannabis can play a part in drawing more people here and extending their time.”
