Weed tourism? Pot company buys Nipton for $5 million

A cannabis company announced Thursday that it bought the tiny California town of Nipton to create a pot tourism destination about an hour from Las Vegas.

American Green Inc., an Arizona-based pot company, bought the century-old town, south of Primm, for about $5 million, according to a news release.

Over the next year and a half, the company said it plans to invest as much as $2.5 million to make the town a pot-friendly destination. The purchase includes 120 acres of land with a general store, a hotel, a school building and mineral baths.

The Phoenix-based company said it plans to modernize it into “the country’s first energy-independent, cannabis-friendly hospitality destination — all while retaining its historic look and value.”

“We are excited to lead the charge for a true ‘Green Rush,’” David Gwyther, chairman and president of American Green, said in the release. “The Cannabis Revolution that’s going on here in the US, has the power to completely revitalize communities in the same way gold did during the 19th century.”

With the purchase of Nipton, the company said it has taken an initial step toward turning Nipton into a hub for producing cannabis-based products and possibly fully licensed cultivation.

The company said it will first focus on bottling “fresh Cbd-infused water direct from a nearby aquifer.” It hopes to add attractions such as mineral baths, cannabis-product retail outposts, artists-in-residence programs, culinary events, and bedand-breakfast lodging.

“The project holds great possibilities for our company and for the cannabis industry as a whole,” Pat Carrigan, chief operating officer, said in the release. “It took the company over 4 months of negotiation with the town’s owners to get us here. Even so, the real work begins now.”

The company also plans to expand an existing solar farm “to move Nipton toward becoming a completely energy-independent town,” the release said.