SAN FRANCISCO – With the cancellation of the highly anticipated 4/20 marijuana festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, cannabis enthusiasts are shifting their focus from Hippie Hill to local dispensaries, where celebrations are underway all week and are expected to culminate on Saturday.
David Goldman, a longtime cannabis fan, said some are determined to gather at Hippie Hill.
“I think a lot of people would still go to Hippie Hill even if it’s canceled. Maybe out of 40,000, there will be 10,000. The city can’t stop people from coming,” he said.
Rather than dwell on the cancellation, Goldman and others like him have explored alternative ways to celebrate, especially during San Francisco Weed Week.
“There has been more than one event every night from April 13 to April 20, many of them taking place at cannabis consumption lounges like Mo Greens and Mission Cannabis Club, where people can not only buy cannabis but also taste the cannabis that is coming out now,” says Goldman. explained.
Kevin Ortiz, another festival guest, shared his plans for Saturday and emphasized a different approach to partying.
“Born and raised in the Mission District – when I go to smoke it’s in Dolores Park, so my plans for Saturday are to go to the Mission Cannabis Club and pick up a nice pre-roll joint and take in the view in Dolores Park watch,” he said.
Ortiz emphasized the importance of community and advocacy within the cannabis industry.
“I’m excited because for the first time we’re going to do an event with the Latino Democratic Club and the Brownie Mary Democratic Club. We have a mixer and talk about how we can continue to bring equality and representation to the cannabis industry – especially when we know that Black and brown people have been negatively impacted by this for years,” Ortiz said.
Dispensaries have seen an increase in customers during Weed Week.
“This is kind of like the Black Friday of cannabis, so there’s definitely a lot of deals and stuff like that, but we’re also trying to make it different here at Solful and a lot of that has to do with the way we source our bud. Everything we buy directly from all farmers in Northern California,” says the owner of Solful in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
Goldman and Ortiz both hope that despite the festival’s cancellation, the spirit of celebration and camaraderie within the cannabis community will continue to thrive.
