April 20th is the day for the celebration of cannabis all over the world. There is a huge annual event that happens on this day in Vancouver known as 420 Vancouver.
This year was the 25th anniversary of this event. The organizers welcomed Cypress Hill as the main guests and headline performers and it was the largest 420 Vancouver ever. It was great to see the crowds and clouds of smoke and here’s my review of it.
Venue
The venue was Sunset Beach in Vancouver. Various types of booths related to Cannabis opened gradually from early in the morning. A lot of people gathered to the beach throughout the day.
There were more than 350 cannabis booths, and there were more than 400 vendors total, including Magic Mushroom booths and Free Zone booths.
Visitors
According to Dana Larsen, a cannabis activist and one of the 420 Vancouver organizers, 60,000 people showed up for the free Cypress Hill concert. The total number of visitors throughout the day was an incredible 150,000 people.
He also has been involved in this event for 25 years, and this year was the best ever for him as well.
4:20
Unfortunately, I forgot to smoke weed at 4:20 because I was super high. At this moment, I was at in front of the stage and was not able to move at all because of the crowds and it was soooooo smokey.
A little after 4:20, Cypress Hill showed up on the stage and the crowds were full of excitement.
This is kind of off the topic, but I went to a restaurant nearby after a live show of Cypress Hill and it seemed busy everywhere. It seemed to me that this event was a major boost to the local economy.
Garbage Clean Up
After this kind of event, you would always see the messiness and it could be a big problem. But everything was cleaned up on the next day thanks to the cleaning crew sponsored by WEEDS.
Collaboration with the City
According to the organizers and the Vancouver Police Department, the event was held in cooperation with the city and park administration offices to ensure public safety and trouble-free operation.
According to a Vancouver police announcement, no major incidents have occurred.
More than 14 people were taken care of by the paramedics, and according to some media information, about 40 people complained of nausea, vomiting, anxiety etc. Most visited the emergency room due to the ingestion of edibles, but there were no minors included and no patients actually required hospitalization. Of course, nobody died at the event, either.
This is a great result for an event like this with so many people. I assume it wouldn’t be the same if this was alcohol event.
Summary
The original purpose of this event was initiated 25 years ago by cannabis activist Mark Emery as a protest against the ban on cannabis. Vancouver’s first 420 was held at Victory Square, which is a park right across the street from the Cannabis Culture building.
This event gets bigger and bigger year by year, with the venue being moved to a public square at the Vancouver Art Gallery where it was held for decades, before moving to Sunset Beach, which allows for even more vendors and people.
It started as a protest and now it has the feel of a festival celebrating cannabis, although protesting unjust cannabis laws and the stigma of users remains a core value of the event.
Also this year, the organizers collected total of $12,600 to donate $ 4,200 each to the Overdose Prevention Society, CKNW Kid ’s Fund, and Variety Children ’s Charity. It was a wonderful event that also gave to the greater community beyond the cannabis faithful.
This year’s 420 Vancouver was amazing. I got to see an unbelievable event that I could never see in Japan and got inspiration.
I am so looking forward to come to the next year’s 420 Vancouver!
Featured image courtesy of Craig Weedography.