The entire town of Nipton, California, just southeast of Primm and boasting a population 20, has been purchased by American Green, a publicly traded marijuana company based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The company’s Stephen Shearin says, “This is not American Green town, not pot town, it’s Nipton, California. A place with a responsible cannabis policy.”
Riiiight … !
Nipton, California is the town that marijuana is building. The small town with a population of just 20 sits across the border of Nevada; some 60 miles south of Las Vegas and its only industry is a small hotel and general store.
The future of that century old place is going to be dramatically different. The entire town has just been purchased by American Green, a publicly traded marijuana company based out of Phoenix, Arizona.
They bought the town for $5,000,000 with plans on turning it into a marijuana paradise. The hotel and General Store will stay but be part of a “responsible cannabis policy” that allows users with little restriction throughout the town.
We got an exclusive tour of Nipton by American Green’s Stephen Shearin who tells the company has big plans. “This is not American Green town, not pot town, it’s Nipton California. A place with a responsible cannabis policy,” said Shearin. They believe their town will be the proving ground for the impact legal marijuana can have on an economy.
On a now empty 80 acre stretch there are plans for marijuana grow houses and manufacturing, if and when other companies are interested in leasing the land.
On the other side of what American Green is calling “Highway 420,” an old one room schoolhouse will be used as a yoga retreat. Other now vacant historic buildings will be used as storefronts for the tourists who choose to stay at the Pot Oasis or the employees of the companies that will move here. Another ambitious plan is in the works, Shearin telling us they are in talks with the company that owns the railway on a train from Nipton to Los Angeles. Everything is on the table.
“You want to come out here and work? We have the infrastructure in a place that’s fun, quiet, historic and cannabis friendly,” said Shearin said. “This is a boon for the economy. This is education. This is positive and we don’t have to change the area. It’s not ‘oh the pot heads are here!’ I’m looking around for one. I don’t see them in our company.”
Solar and water are already on site, combine that with plans for small farming and a tilapia farm that will serve as a water source for marijuana plants, and there is a belief the town can be self-sufficient.
The company is in it for the long haul, but they want to see visitors in the next few weeks.