04 Aug Cannabis Company Buying Entire Town for Tourism

Phoenix based American Green Inc. is buying the entire town of Nipton, CA, all 120 acres of it. They want to turn the town into a cannabis tourism destination. Nipton, population 20, is a mere 60 miles from Las Vegas and about 3 hours from Los Angeles or, as the current owner described it as noted in the London Evening Standard, “conveniently located in the middle of nowhere.”

The company is paying $5 million for the town and plans on another $2.5 million to fix it up. According to American Green’s public filings, however, the company had less than $200,000 in cash as of March 31, 2017, as well as $8.7 million in liabilities. It does have several million in other assets, but it is not entirely clear how the company plans to finance the purchase.

Nipton started life in 1905 when the gold rush hit, and now ironically it is poised to capitalize on the “green rush” of cannabis. American Green President David Gwyther thinks cannabis legalization could change and revitalize communities. If the deal is completed, will this rival the cannabis tourism seen in Colorado and soon to hit places like Las Vegas? If they build a nice spa…

[updated 8/7/17]