This past weekend’s 4/20 celebrations brought in the biggest crowds and sales to date.
Shit got so lit on Saturday that some cannabis websites and mobile apps crashed from surges in traffic. The weed delivery service Eaze went dark as soon as it announced its free-delivery “Happy Hour.” The online weed retailers Chill and Nugg “also suffered difficulties that day,” wrote The Guardian.
In Denver, Colorado, the annual 4/20 Festival brought in an estimated 75,000 people from around the world, up slightly from last year’s estimated pull of 70,000. Colorado was the first US state to sell legal recreational weed in 2014.
Meanwhile Vancouver, BC’s 4/20 celebration came in second, at 60,000 attendees. City officials almost canceled the 4/20 event’s free Cypress Hill show due to concerns that the rap group would invite unmanageable crowds. After public outcry, the party got to “B-Real” after all.
Other cities saw large crowds for their 4/20 festivals as well, although San Francisco’s possibly experienced a slight slump, with an estimated 1,000 fewer people showing up this year at Golden Gate Park than last year.
As weed trailblazes into the mainstream, sales likely broke previous years’ records, too. Although the data are still rolling in, early numbers confirmed analysts’ predictions that weed sales would double on this year’s 4/20.
In Colorado, weed sales spiked 128 percent – hitting just over $9 million in total sales – on the Friday leading up to 4/20, compared to less-festive Fridays. According to MJBizDaily, other weed-legal states saw similar numbers, including Nevada (106 percent), California (103 percent), and Washington state (97 percent).
Most tokers, unsurprisingly, bought flower to toast-off the so-called stoners’ “Fourth of July.” In Colorado, buds accounted for 60 percent of weed sales, while concentrates followed at 27 percent, MJBizDaily reported.
Health Canada, the Canadian government agency that regulates the nation’s weed, reported supply shortages in certain areas of the Great White North, too. Although that’s not exactly news, given the government’s problems keeping pot shops’ shelves stocked.
This year’s 4/20 may have marked a turning point in weed’s mainstream acceptance. Sales aside, several big-name corporations involved themselves in the unofficial weed holiday, despite marijuana remaining illegal at the federal level.
Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr., Ben & Jerry’s, Dos Toros, Ike’s Sandwiches, Wingzone, and Lyft got in on the heady action by offering 4/20 specials on Saturday. Boston Market even offered a buy-one-get-one-free “Pot Pie” deal to sound-off the day’s jamborees.
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