Organizers across the Bay Area and throughout California are hosting events to celebrate 4/20.
The biggest event in San Francisco is SF Space Walk, a week-long celebration of cannabis, where seven growers release seven strains of weed at seven lounges throughout the city, leading up to 4/20.
The popular San Francisco cannabis event, 4/20 Hippie Hill, won’t be held for a third year in a row.
For years, the city’s Parks and Recreation department hosted the permitted event, which brought thousands of weed connoisseurs to San Francisco to celebrate 4/20, the unofficial marijuana holiday.
However, due to budget cuts from the city, San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department cannot cover staffing for the event, according to Daniel Montes, the parks department’s communication manager. Montes also noted that “event organizers haven’t been able to secure sponsorships due to economic challenges within the cannabis industry.”
It’s been close to a decade since the use of recreational weed became legalized in California with the passing of Proposition 64, which initially sparked the city’s desire to sponsor the annual 4/20 celebration.
Regardless, hundreds are expected to continue to gather at Hippie Hill, a small hill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, to openly engage in recreational activities, a tradition that has persisted since the 1970s.
4/20, or 420, refers to April 20, the day that has become the unofficial marijuana holiday for consumers.
The story behind how 4/20 became the unofficial marijuana holiday is unclear, but there are a few popular theories.
Some believe the holiday is representative of “420,” a radio code that has been used for police to indicate marijuana. Others tie the “holiday” to Bob Dylan’s song “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” with its refrain, “Everybody must get stoned,” and the product of multiplying 12 by 35 is 420, according to PBS.
The most likely story, though, is one that centers on a group of California high school friends in the 1970s.
According to PBS, a brother of one of these friends allegedly grew marijuana in the woods near the school and was paranoid about being caught. He drew up a map of where to find the pot and gave it to the friend group to harvest.
One day during the 1971 fall semester, at precisely 4:20 p.m., the friends smoked a joint and headed out to the woods, looking for the stash. Though they were never able to find it, their code “420” caught on, as the friend group hung around the Grateful Dead a fair amount, according to PBS.
Sacramento – Pot Stars of California 4/20 Celebration – Cal Expo
Rodeo – Bay Blaze Fest – Four Fools Winery
Los Angeles – Garden Party – Mi Alma Gardens
San Francisco – Smokers Dream 420 Festival SF feat. Berner – The Midway
Bolinas – 420 Patio Session – Smiley’s Saloon
Los Angeles – 4/20 Puff & Paint – Side Gate Gallery
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.