Wine trails are 10 a penny, but how about a cannabis trail?

 

Cannabis is all the rage right now. 

Visit Thailand and you can buy cannabis-infused drinks by the beach, or buy your spliff supply from a local version of a food truck. 

In Canada, you just pop into your local cannabis store to pick up a joint or two, or maybe some gummies.

In Australia, of course, you'll find police with sniffer dogs at railway stations trying to smell out someone with a marijuana cigarette on their person. But we are a little bit behind the times. 

In Oakland, California, they recently launched their own cannabis trail - which is being actively by the Visit Oakland tourism folks. 

Oakland has been at the forefront of cannabis education and compassionate patient access for decades. 

"California and especially the Bay Area is known for having the best cannabis in the world," says the retailers at Cookies Oakland. 

With the city facing economic issues, by the 1990s city leaders were open to exploring uncharted avenues for downtown revitalisation. 

The potential for much-needed commerce spurred a new perspective on cannabis regulation and taxation, long before other cities across the country followed suit. 

For two decades, Oakland has been a cannabis policy leader at the state and federal level. 

Several spots are officially recognized as Cultural Landmarks along The Cannabis Trail. 

In the Oaksterdam Uptown District, Blunts and Moore (above), and Harborside are historic markers of the short but busy history of cannabis in Oakland. 

Harborside is a pioneer of mainstream cannabis wellness and normalisation. It is here that the very first legal sale of recreational cannabis in California happened in 2016. 

Dotted throughout each diverse Oakland neighbourhoods are various cannabis shops featuring local product brands such as Fig Farms and Dark Heart Nursery.

From the canna-curious to canna-sseur, there is, apparently, something for everyone - and there is an official trail map featuring shops, places to chill out and recommended eateries. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: While cannabis is legal to purchase from licensed retailers in California, it is still illegal to consume cannabis in public. See Oakland Cannabis Trail.