Local Access is our ongoing series in which notable names in the cannabis community share insider travel tips for doing their hometowns right.
Veronica Castillo—aka Vee the Traveling Cannabis Writer—has built a career around two of her biggest passions: cannabis and travel. The skilled journalist and advocate spends her days exploring destinations near and far, sharing 420-centric stories of people and places that the world needs to know about. But while her work takes her across the United States and beyond, she’ll always be a South Floridian at heart.
Born and raised in and around Miami, Vee knows exactly where cannabis travelers can go to experience the best of this vibrant city. Whether you’re in the mood for cultural exploration, coastal contemplation, international flavors, or anything else in the 305, she’s the local you want to ask.
We caught up with Vee to get her insider recommendations for exploring her hometown—from her favorite places to hang out to the experiences she thinks every visitor should have—and her top picks for cannabis-friendly destinations beyond South Florida. Keep reading for advice on experiencing Miami like a local and discovering more of the world through a cannabis-friendly lens.
Tell us a little about yourself and where you call home.
I was born in Miami-Dade County and raised between Dade and Broward County (Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale). I was the kid who read encyclopedias, ate sugar cane, and ran around barefoot. My logical dream was to be a lawyer; my wildest dream was to be a writer who lived out of a suitcase.
What is your relationship with cannabis?
I’m a daily consumer. I started as a patient, then an advocate, and added industry writer/documentarian to the relationship.
In 2015, I was diagnosed with Chronic Migraine with Vertigo. This is when I discovered cannabis as medicine, thanks to a friend who saw me preparing to swallow prescription meds and told me I needed to smoke weed. What I was preparing to swallow was prescription number five; I was pretty over Western medicine, so I decided to smoke. It was then I realized that I’d tell people the truth about cannabis by becoming a writer who lived out of a suitcase in order to travel and learn.
What makes Miami special?
Miami is the United Caribbean, sees no winter, and is surrounded by water.
What’s a common misconception about Miami?
That Miami and Miami Beach are the same place.
What’s one restaurant, café, or food experience every visitor should try?
Go a little north of Miami to downtown Hollywood and visit El Bayu De Wela Sara. You’ll walk from Hollywood into Puerto Rico. Depending on the night, live music. No matter the night, delicious food!
What’s a place most tourists miss but absolutely shouldn’t?
There is so much on the other side of the bridges that connect the mainland and ocean/bays. Some of Miami’s best places aren’t along the coast: Little Haiti, Little Havana, and downtown Hollywood, a little north of Miami.
If you could send visitors to just one neighborhood, attraction, or local experience, what would it be?
Go to Bayside Marketplace. To me, it’s still the place to go to take in the most beautiful things about Miami in one place: the ocean, the art, the food, the vibes, and the sounds of the Caribbean. And to experience a higher level of beauty, take one of the ferry rides around the port, Biscayne Bay, and Star and Fisher Islands.
If someone had only 24 hours in Miami, how would you tell them to spend it?
EAT THE CARIBBEAN! Travel the islands by plate. Visit a Cuban bakery for breakfast, and whatever you order, add a guava pastry to it. Get a Jamaican patty with coco bread (I recommend salt fish options) for lunch. For dinner, check out a Haitian restaurant and have the best rice in the Caribbean and snapper with a side of pikliz.
What’s your favorite thing to do after consuming cannabis in your city?
I go to the ocean so I can consume again with the waves.
What’s one of the best cannabis destinations you’ve been to in your travels? Why?
Thailand. Consumption lounges, cannabis-friendly restaurants and eateries, cannabis-friendly taxis and rideshares, travel with your cannabis on a flight and ferry. It was the most free I’ve ever felt as a consumer.
What’s a memorable cannabis-related travel experience you’ve had (that you’re willing to share…)?
There are so many! My cross-country tour with Leafly exploring cannabis-friendly lodging across the country. I had a lot of cool places and experiences to report back on. The Fat Nugs Under Big Skies tour of Montana—she is a beauty, and I smoked such amazing flower. I even toured an underground, like under the ground in downtown, cultivation. My tour of the legendary Emerald Triangle, sitting with and learning from some of the culture/industry greats! The High Road Beyond Borders tour of Thailand, my first time experiencing federally legal cannabis.
Quick Hits
☀️ Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise
🏖️ Mountains, beach, desert, or city? Beach
✈️ Plane, train, car, or boat? Plane, only because I like to get there. The best feeling: boat.
🌸 Edible, flower, beverage, vape, or concentrate? Flower
🍟 Favorite travel snack? An infused gummy before the airport and the United Airlines Kosher snack box on the flight. If I am flying JetBlue, plantain chips. If I am traveling by car, French fries.
🌳 Dream cannabis travel destination? The dream came true—California’s Emerald Triangle
🌌 Most underrated place you’ve visited? Montana
⛰️ One destination every traveler should visit at least once? Vermont. More nature than people, and that’s worth experiencing at least once. There’s a place in Waterbury, Zenbarn, that has lodging, a restaurant and bar with live performances just below, and a cannabis dispensary around the corner. I highly recommend.
What are your favorite spots in Miami? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
