After 4/20 plans went up in smoke due to coronavirus-related stay-at-home orders across the country, many cannabis fans instead celebrated online Monday.
Sounds Bazaar, an event business, with its sponsor Weedmaps, originally organized an annual 4/20 gathering on San Francisco’s Hippie Hill, typically attracting more than 20,000 attendees. This year, it was hosted on a livestream featuring musical guests Billy Ray Cyrus, Erykah Badu and Wiz Khalifa, according to the Hill.
A woman smokes a marijuana cigarette during a legalization party at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto, Ontario. (GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images)
Switching to an online celebration creates hurdles for advocacy organizations such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, which would typically have volunteers interact with crowds in person to push causes like state legalization measures, CNN reported.
Cannabis businesses also usually run promotions and discounts for 4/20, which draws swaths of people to dispensaries.
Many cannabis dispensaries remained open in certain states during the coronavirus shutdown orders which in some cases classified the businesses as essential. (RELATED: San Francisco’s Cannabis Dispensaries Will Remain Open During Lockdown)