Cannabis Industry Preps for Biggest 420 Ever

With California and Nevada’s recreational markets fully online this year, more folks than ever are expected to take part in the cannabis holiday.

The 420 holiday, which dates back to decades before any real progress was seen on marijuana law reform, was started by The Waldos at San Rafael High School, just north of San Francisco. The celebration of “420” then made its way to the parking lots of Grateful Dead tours in the 1980s, and now is making annual appearances in bank accounts across the cannabis industry.

According to MJ Freeway, the statistics from last year supports the building excitement for this year’s 420. Their widely accepted data in Colorado shows over $37.5 million in sales on April 20, 2016. The day marked a 192 percent increase from the average day, but it only took 30 percent more foot traffic to pull off. Now, add the rest of the country to this and you can understand the madness.

The California market is really what changes everything this year. California is nearly eight times the size of Colorado and has a ferocious appetite for marijuana. Expect to see a solid chunk of the Golden State’s residents making it to their local dispensary and for the sales numbers that come out of the day to break every record.

The Green Cross, one of the first places to sell legal marijuana in San Francisco, told Cannabis Now what it’s been like getting prepared for what they know will be their busiest day ever.

“We expect much larger crowds than year’s past,” Director of Communications and Human Resources Holli Bert said. “As of right now, we project at least three times as many customers and purchases as a typical business day. As a result, we will have all hands on deck that day, staffing-wise.”

While Bert says dispensaries are planning on offering the standard fare of discounts, raffles and great cannabis, she is also looking forward to some new good vibes not seen in years past.

“We also anticipate a much more celebratory vibe now that cannabis is legal for adult use in California,” said Bert. “Since this is our first 420 since cannabis became legal for folks without recommendations for medical cannabis [in California], it remains to be seen how many new and existing members we will see that day. We’re doing everything we can to be as prepared as possible. Either way, we’re excited to see what happens!”

Many of the country’s most elite flower producers are also preparing to fill the needs of the masses.

“We’re trying to lower our prices,” Ted from Alien Labs told us with a laugh. “Really though — quite frantically.” Cannabis growers such as Alien Labs like to use the holiday to showcase their newest wares to the world. This year, keep an eye out for Melonade and Alien Labs Biscotti.

As for the distributors, California’s newest links in the chain, they are preparing for their first 420 with full knowledge that it will be a doozy. One distributor told Cannabis Now they have about 80 orders going out this week in preparation. “We tried to plan early but we’re ready to deliver more obviously,” the distributor said.

One thing that the California market won’t have to deal with is the full scrutiny of the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control. The BCC still won’t be implementing the full track and trace program for at least a couple more months. Currently, June 1 is the expected date for the tracking program to come online, but many industry experts wouldn’t be surprised if the timeline is pushed back.

TELL US, how are you preparing for 420?