It’s been a busy year so far for the cannabis industry: In recent weeks, New York, Virginia, and New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana for adults — with four other states, and even the federal government, possibly joining soon.
In light of these rapid changes — and 4/20 around the corner — the most important question to ask right now is: Which of America’s weed meccas promise to enhance your cannabis experience?
LawnStarter ranked 2021’s Best Cities to Get Stoned by comparing 94 U.S. cities (where recreational marijuana is currently legal) based on 12 key indicators of a smoking good time. Among them: The volume of Google searches for “marijuana” and “weed,” access to dispensaries and head shops, and availability of 420-friendly lodging and smoking lounges.
Check out the top 20 stoner cities below, followed by some highlights and lowlights from Lawnstarter’s report.
Best Cities to Get Stoned
1 Denver, CO
2 Los Angeles, CA
3 San Francisco, CA
4 Fullerton, CA
5 Garden Grove, CA
6 Glendale, CA
7 Colorado Springs, CO
8 Boston, MA
9 Portland, OR
10 Las Vegas, NV
11 Orange, CA
12 Detroit, MI
13 Torrance, CA
14 Santa Ana, CA
15 Pasadena, CA
16 Huntington Beach, CA
17 Anaheim, CA
18 Lakewood, CO
19 Ontario, CA
20 Worcester, MA
Highlights and Lowlights
Denver: The Mile High City
Denver takes the weed cake in our ranking as America’s pot capital. With Colorado leading the nation’s recreational cannabis reform movement in 2012, it’s safe to say being a first mover really has its advantages.
Denver dominates the social environment category, with more 420-friendly lodging establishments and social consumption lounges. Where Denver falls short: the number of dispensaries and head shops and Google search popularity.
Colorado Springs and Lakewood also finished on a high note, at Nos. 7 and 18 overall, respectively. Only Fort Collins, in 63rd place, didn’t fare as well.
California: The State of High
Five Golden State cities landed in the top 10, a dozen in the top 20, and 20 in the top 30, and … you get the point: California is the “it” place for stoners, with the Los Angeles metro sweeping the popularity and supply access categories.
Among the top 10 overall are Fullerton, Garden Grove, and Glendale — all earning the highest grades in popularity and supply access — plus San Francisco at No. 3.
While no California city won every single metric, chances are you can find anything and everything cannabis-related in the state. It is, after all, the true reform pioneer: The state was first to legalize medical marijuana, in 1996.
Doobie Newbies
Cities in the newest states to join the league of fun-weed states — Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York — for the most part placed in the bottom third of our ranking. For example, Tucson, Arizona, landed at No. 85; Rockford, Illinois, at No. 91; Newark, New Jersey, at No. 90; and New York City at No. 77.
But two cities are riding on their recent high: Chicago — propelled by an abundance of marijuana tours and events — at No. 28, and Paterson, New Jersey — with the most residents searching for weed online — at No 46. Apparently, stoners here have waited long enough and aren’t wasting any more time.
The full ranking and analysis can be found on Lawnstarter’s website.
