Bay Area

This 4/20, California’s Famous Weed Culture Took A Hit, Too

Published

4 years ago

April 23, 2020

This week, marijuana enthusiasts across the state of California — and around the world are — observing 4/20/2020.

But, this year, the famous pot-smoking celebration in California, where the weed industry has been struggling to take off, has taken another twist. Like every other activity and public function, it will be happening, if it does at all, privately, away from public spaces, as the global COVID-19 pandemic that has now killed more than 1,000 Californians continues to rage.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued a statement urging people to continue practicing social distancing on 4/20.

“I want to be clear with people who (usually) come to San Francisco on 4/20 to Robin Williams Meadow to celebrate 4/20: Do not come to San Francisco,” warned Breed. “We will not allow this unsanctioned event to occur this year especially in the height of a pandemic,” she added.

But the excitement that was building up to this year’s celebration had already been cooled. Organizers of San Francisco’s “Hippie Hill” 4/20 celebration have cancelled the event.

“We take the health and safety of the public, our staff, vendors, and sponsors very seriously,” reads a message on Hippie Hill’s official website. “We feel it’s all of our responsibility to do our part to minimize social gathering and potential spread of this virus in the community.”

The 4/20 celebration usually takes place in Golden Gate Park, but this year organizers are urging people to stay home and smoke.

“While this event is cancelled in person, it is not cancelled in spirit! We want everyone to celebrate this historic day by staying in and supporting your local delivery services and dispensaries,” it says on the Hippie Hill website.

The unofficial “holiday” honoring the consumption of cannabis has become almost synonymous with California. Five high school students first coined the term “4:20” in 1971 at San Rafael High School in Marin County near San Francisco.

Hippie Hill, the largest annual public pot-smoking celebration in the world, has been held in San Francisco every year. Several more large festivals rivaling the Bay Area’s are held downstate around Los Angeles.

In pop culture, California rappers like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and the late Nipsey Hussle – and 1990s urban movie classics like “Friday” — have popularized weed smoking and created a laid back, dazed-out hip hop weed aesthetic straight out of the stereos of tricked-out whips and against the backdrop of the hazy Southern California sunshine.

In 1996, California became the first state in the United States to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Then in 2016, by a ballot measure, Prop 64, voters approved the use of recreational marijuana, prompting big investments in the state’s weed industry.

But the retail business has been slow to pick up — some say because of high state and local taxes, protests from NIMBYs, and stiff competition from a thriving untaxed illegal market that is more rooted and widespread than the legal one.

Prop 64 included in it a provision to establish the California Community Reinvestment Grant (CalCRG) program funded by excise and cultivation taxes on cannabis. The program funds programs that assist Californians disproportionately affected by federal and state War-on-Drug policies.

Among its programs, the grant helps formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society with “trauma-informed” care. The majority of those impacted were Black and Hispanic men, women and children.

Even though the state has deemed weed an essential commodity during the COVID-19 crisis, the state’s weed industry is sputtering.

Some weed smokers have been excited that the unofficial observance of weed smoking is unique this year because the date has four twenties in it. Some putting forth the suggestion that entire month of April, which is technically 4/20, like the date, be celebrated this year.

“At 4:20 on 4/20/2020, there will be four twenties,” are the words on a sign rapper Snoop Dogg is holding on a meme making its way around the internet.

Aldon Thomas Stiles

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”