Cannabis tourism yet to catch on in Toronto despite pot shops, Cannabis Carnival

Even though pot shops are seemingly on every corner of the city and despite the opening of a nice space to light one up at Exhibition Place, cannabis tourism is not yet much of a thing in Toronto.

Though Toronto has gone from just 12 legal cannabis shops at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to close to 500 now, according to a recent New York Times story, and though it’s true that there are things like personalized tours and cooking classes themed around marijuana for eager tourists who favour bud, these aren’t exactly high times, according to those in the know.

Destination Toronto told the Sun that they’ve only received a couple of inquires in the past four years about cannabis tourism in Toronto.

Cannabis Carnival recently opened and will continue for the rest of the summer at Exhibition Place. It’s a 600,000-square-foot outdoor smoking area for cannabis at Grand Bizarre Supper Club.

George Smitherman, president and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, recently told reporters that the Cannabis Carnival space will start the “normalization of cannabis culture.

“There will be more opportunities. There will be more of these opportunities with edibles, drinks and the food evolution of the cannabis consumption culture,” Smitherman said.

So, it’s possible that other entrepreneurs will follow suit, but it hasn’t happened yet.