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Now, this is a weed milestone: For the second time ever, the Super Bowl gridiron will be located in a state with legal cannabis. Yes indeed, State Farm Stadium — site of the Super Bowl LVII showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs — is stationed in Glendale, Arizona, which is home to at least 87 dispensaries. No wonder the halftime show stars our stoner queen Rihanna. It’s about to be lit (sorry.)
What does this mean for the NFL’s ultimate showdown? First of all, people are about to get really high. Weed sales throughout Super Bowl weekend are always elevated. Back in 2021, Friday pre-game sales rose by 33% as compared to a typical day in February, and by 22% on Saturday, if you trust numbers from marketing technology company Surfside Solutions Inc.
Keep in mind weed sales do tend to actually drop on Game Day itself — some 28% in 2021, according to the same studies. (I mean, everyone’s probably stoned and perfecting their guacamole recipe by that point.)
After all, despite the NFL’s draconian attitude towards weedy advertisements, Super Bowl has joined the list of cannabis’ big days of the year, a lineup that includes Thanksgiving— sorry, Danksgiving — Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, and really, the entire winter holiday season. As far back as 2018, we have been writing about the bump in sales that the big game occasioned in dispensaries around the US.
“They’re going to be out here for the Super Bowl, and they’re gonna want to…you know, dabble in the products,” Michael O’Brien, who owns the closest dispensary to State Farm Stadium (it’s called Ponderosa in case you need to line up your nug run) told a local NBC affiliate.
Another weed-related Super Bowl truth: it’s time for some 420-friendly product and event marketing tie-ins.
Former NBA player Al Harrington’s Viola Cannabis has gone so far as to develop two special Super Bowl edibles called Chief Mango and Eagle Berry, which will be available starting on Friday in Arizona as a bonus to customers who cop two eighths, four edibles, or four pre-rolls. (Really, the bare minimum stash when one considers that the game will last between three and four hours.)
The day before the game and a 20-minute drive away from the stadium, Trulieve will be hosting a 15-weed vendor party called “Cannablitz.” Starting on Friday, former footballer and current cannabis entrepreneur Ricky Williams will be hosting a free three-day event of “industry love, product immersion and cannabis acceptance” at Phoenix’s cannabis-friendly Hotel Clarendon called “4th ‘N’ 20.” If that description calls up visions of flower power, think again: the festival’s lineup features a Madden tournament and obviously, a Super Bowl viewing party.
Brand Mint Cannabis is also welcoming all adult comers to its three-day “Big Game” party at the company’s Cannabis Consumption Park. If you’re in the area and interested in making history on Super Bowl weekend, do take note that at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, attendees will spark 10,000 (free!) pre-rolls in a bid to break the Guinness world record for “largest smoke session.”
Former NFL player Jim McMahon is also getting in on this smorgasbord of high-profile Super Bowl sessions. He’s hosting the first “Super Bowl golf event where cannabis will be readily consumed” the Friday before the game. We’re telling you, weed milestones all around!
