‘PUFF’ THE MAGIC WAGON
Colorado co. looks to roll out pot party on wheels in Mass.
A Colorado company is eyeing Massachusetts to operate “mobile cannabis lounges” where customers hitch a ride on a party bus and smoke or vape weed to their hearts’ content as the bus tours local dispensaries, hotels and bars.
The “puff bus” is already in operation in Denver but the owners of the company, called “Loopr,” say they are looking to expand to other states, including California, Nevada and Massachusetts, in 2018.
Loopr is already advertising for Boston on a popular weed website called potguide.com.
“The ultimate social cannabis experience is launching summer 2018 in time for the start of recreational sales!” the ad proclaims.
Loopr’s website says the company “is preparing for operations in California, Massachusetts or wherever else the American people choose to end prohibition.”
Loopr founder and CEO Bryan Spatz said the company is currently lobbying officials in Los Angeles and Las Vegas to approve the service but hopes to begin working on bringing Loopr to Massachusetts sometime after recreational pot sales become legal in July 2018.
“Because Massachusetts is on a less aggressive schedule to launch recreational sales, we are not as far along in our planning there,” Spatz said in an email to the Herald.
“I intend to begin reaching out to state and local officials to discuss our model and make sure we can bring the same safe, reliable transportation service that doubles as mobile cannabis lounges to Massachusetts as we have in Denver now and hopefully LA & LV in early 2018,” he said.
Loopr’s website proclaims: “Besides using the biggest, baddest party buses loaded full of custom features for the ultimate cannabis experience, Loopr offers a unique network with curated routes that is fun, affordable and convenient for your transportation needs ... Aboard the bus, Loopr offers the opportunity to consume cannabis any way you choose in an ultra-comfortable multimedia environment with curated music videos and laser light shows stimulating the senses.”
Pot experts say there’s a good chance the state Cannabis Control Commission would allow Loopr to operate, because current state law allows people to bring their own alcohol onto limos and party buses.
If pot is treated as equivalent to alcohol, then Loopr buses would be legal.
But it’s also possible that local cities and towns such as Boston may have to approve of the rolling cannabis buses, if they are treated as social clubs.
In Denver, Loopr has been a success so far. Riders use the Loopr app to buy oneday, three-day or monthly passes and get high inside the bus, which is equipped with free Wi-Fi, big-screen TVs and food and beverages. The bus is also available for private parties.
Customers cannot buy weed on the bus but the mobile lounge comes equipped with pot paraphernalia like “custom made bongs, dab rigs with e-nails and a four-person hookah-style vaporizer,” according to the Loopr website. The driver of the bus is separated from the action by a partition.
The bus makes a loop around the city, stopping at popular dispensaries, restaurants, sports bars and other tourist destinations while riders get on and off where they want.