Abstract
Often compared with the Gold Rush, the marijuana industry is already a multibillion-dollar phenomenon and is expected to generate 22 billion dollars in sales in the United States by 2020. Two years have passed since the legalization of recreational marijuana begun in Colorado. This unprecedented change has created numerous business opportunities as well as legal and operational challenges for the hospitality and tourism industry. This article explores the legalization of recreational marijuana in terms of the tourism industry in Colorado and identifies several challenges found in the current marijuana-related literature in the context of hospitality and tourism research. We also present several research areas that could help hospitality and tourism researchers explore and contribute to the body of knowledge of this emerging market by using Colorado as a focal point. Future research on marijuana tourism is of great importance in that the rapid rise of this niche market creates the pressing challenges and promising opportunities for destinations. Such knowledge will only increase in importance as marijuana tourism continues to evolve as a special interest tourism segment.
Highlights
On November 6, 2012, Colorado residents approved Colorado Amendment 64 for the legalization of recreational marijuana with 55.3% of the vote, making Colorado the first state in the country to legalize recreational cannabis (Hudak, 2014)
It is indisputable that the marijuana market has changed the landscape of the tourism and hospitality industry in Colorado and will be a significant consumption commodity
This study examined the current status of marijuana tourism in Colorado, identified several research challenges based on the existing literature, and suggested key areas for future research surrounding marijuana tourism
Summary
On November 6, 2012, Colorado residents approved Colorado Amendment 64 for the legalization of recreational (retail) marijuana with 55.3% of the vote, making Colorado the first state in the country to legalize recreational cannabis (Hudak, 2014). Colorado’s legalization could result in change in people’s attitude toward marijuana, making the drug less threatening and stigmatized (Caulkins, Hawken, Kilmer, & Kleiman, 2012a) This sentiment is already evident with more than half of Americans (58%) continuing to support legal marijuana use in the United States, the highest approval rating in the Gallup’s 46-year trend in 2015 (Jones, 2015). This article follows up on the legalization of recreational marijuana in terms of the tourism industry in Colorado and identifies several challenges found in the current marijuana-related literature in the context of hospitality and tourism research. We present several research ideas that could help hospitality and tourism researchers explore and contribute to the body of knowledge of this emerging market by using Colorado as a focal point
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