Author: Edward Helmore / Source: the Guardian
Today may be the day that marijuana officially loses its cool. April 20, 4/20, the once underground national holiday for dope smokers, appears to have sold out to The Man.
The origins of 4/20 are as disputed as the last pack of gummy bears after a long smoking session.
Some say it was once police code for “marijuana smoking in progress” – apparently untrue – and others claim it was invented by high school stoners in Marin county, California, who would meet at 4.20pm to get high.No matter what the origins it’s big business for a rapidly growing industry – the Black Friday of getting high.
This year’s 4/20 falls on a Saturday and is expected to be the biggest sales day yet for legal marijuana, exceeding an 111% sales spike record last year. Stoners will gather at Denver’s Civic Center Park to celebrate, with clouds of marijuana smoke drifting over the crowds, some still in tie-dye and preaching cosmic one-ness.
4/20 doesn’t have a Hallmark card yet but it can’t be far off. Of the hundreds of tie-in promotions this year, Lyft is offering a $4.20 credit on a single ride in Colorado and in select cities in the US and Canada. The fast-food chain Carl’s Jr is using a Denver outlet to test a hamburger infused with CBD oil.
But there is a serious side to it. This year the ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s is calling on consumers to pressure lawmakers to expunge prior marijuana convictions for anyone arrested for smoking pot. Considering those arrests are four times more likely to affect African Americans, the social justice implications are clear.
According to Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist at Golden Gate University, 4/20 is on its way to becoming a mainstream national holiday and that’s largely a function of the booming marijuana business. Arcview, a cannabis investment and market research firm, estimates…
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