In cannabis culture, April 20 is a holiday where participants light up the fun and protest prohibition.
Although the origins of April 20 are debated — according to popular legend, a group of California high school students in the 1970s met after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke weed — the day has celebrated globally for many years.
Until recently in New York, celebrations carried the risk of arrest or fines, so they often took place in secret locations or places where authorities were somewhat more lenient, like the Park Washington Square. Smoking incidents are sometimes organized as a form of protest. In 2020, police broke up a marijuana party in Manhattan, not because people were smoking weed but because they were violating social distancing rules during the pandemic.
But since state legalizes marijuana in 2021 and the lifting of pandemic restrictions, the protests have largely subsided. And a growing number of celebrations – some with brand sponsorship – have emerged, catering to users new and old as well as those who are just “cannabis-curious.”
This year, as the state’s legal cannabis industry has expanded and cannabis use has gained acceptance, the variety of events has also expanded. In addition to private and smoking parties, there are also comedy shows and block parties. Happy Munkey, an event planning company, is organizing a cruise on the Hornbutter.
Not all events focus on cannabis consumption. A workshop at MARY Fest, a new event in Brooklyn named after the nickname of one of the weeds, Mary Jane, teaches participants how to grow cannabis at home. Upside Pizza has partnered with Gotham, a dispensary on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan, for a secret menu. And Trends, a dispensary on Long Island, is streaming NBA playoffs and serving chicken wings.
Dabs and Lattes
If you have watched the YouTube talk show “Hot Ones,” in which the host interviews celebrities as they eat increasingly hot chicken wings, then you will understand the concept of “Hot Dabs,” a podcast whose most recent episode was recorded with an audience on Saturday at a cannabis-friendly co-working space in Manhattan.
Instead of eating meat, podcast hosts and guests are increasingly eating more meat. Dabbing is a method of weed consumption that involves placing cannabis concentrates in a glass rig, heating it until vaporized, and then inhaling it.
At Saturday’s event, titled Dabs and Lattes, the guest was JP Toro, a rig maker known for creations that can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
A mist enveloped the room as the host, Dustan Mipuck, who goes by Hashaveli, asked Mr. Toro about his first experience applying the cream. In the crowd, mostly men from out of town, those who brought their own rigs and lighters picked out plastics with names like Morocco Peaches and paired them with coffee brewed at a party bar. in co-working space, Work’n’ Rolling, in Chelsea.
Justin Page, 41, carried Raincatcher No. 21, a trellis depicting a nude woman with purple hair catching raindrops with an opal inside.
Mr. Page, an event producer in Missouri, said New York appears to be surpassing California as the top destination for cannabis enthusiasts on April 20 because of the growth of established brands. has the city’s reputation and largely untapped market. (New York is There are a lot of unlicensed weed shops.)
“It’s wild here,” he said, adding that New York “is growing on me.”
Wake up and ride your bike
Some veteran weed consumers like to “wake and roast,” slang for smoking the weed early on. For more active activities, this year’s April 20 festival in New York City also includes a “Wake and Bike” ride.
Just before 11 a.m. Saturday, a group led by Social Cycling NYC, an informal collective of cyclists who often ride together on Thursday nights, set out from near Central Park on a The trip is 19 miles long. The group traveled through Manhattan and crossed the Manhattan Bridge, eventually settling at Hunters Point South Park in Queens.
On a grassy hill with sweeping views of the city skyline, some people burned wine and ate snacks. Paulo Garcia, a Filipino immigrant living in East Harlem, said cycling brings up two dangerous hobbies in his hometown: cycling and smoking weed.
Mr. Garcia, 41, said that in the Philippines, there is no bicycle infrastructure, such as designated lanes, and the government has waged a violent campaign against the use of marijuana and other drugs. Other drugs are illegal there.
“People ask me, Why are you so excited?” he say. “I come from a country where people kill you for smoking weed.”
New York had legalized low-level marijuana possession by the time Brooklyn native Justin Bloomfield, 20, started smoking in high school. He said he would hide it from his mother, the same way generations before him hid their use from the authorities.
But now, he said, he feels comfortable using it publicly even though he is two weeks away from the minimum legal age.
“I have the luxury of being able to walk outside whenever I want, curl up whenever I want and smoke wherever I want,” he said.
However, he thinks it would be good to have more designated spaces for smoking weed in places like parks and bars. The regulator has not yet issued licenses for consumption or event halls.
Learn to roll and grow
At MARY Fest, in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Krys Wolf, a professional joint roller, was one of the biggest draws. A line of patrons waited as Ms. Wolf rolled, sealed and decorated their blunts with rhinestones in her signature designs.
In the small room next door, Maxence Majot prepares to teach a seminar on how to grow cannabis at home. New York finalized regulations this spring allowing residents to keep six plants, three mature and three immature, in their homes.
Michelle Sajous, 61, had her rights as a medical marijuana patient, and she decided it was time to learn. She was part of the team that opened a dispensary in the Bronx at Co-op City, a housing complex where she was also the manager.
“Let’s get started,” said Ms. Sajous, whose left leg was amputated in 2019 due to complications from diabetes. “I’ve been smoking for 50 years,” she added. “It’s time for me to have my own.”
