Hippie festival canceled due to budget constraints

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Nearly every April, cannabis enthusiasts head to Hippie Hill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for 4/20 at Hippie Hill, a festival celebrating marijuana. This year, the party is canceled .

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“Unfortunately, the 420 Hippie Hill event in Golden Gate Park will not be happening as planned this year – due to city wide budget cutbacks, the climate of the cannabis industry & economy we have been unable to secure enough financial sponsorship to get everything required for a safe, clean, city & state compliant event,” said a notice on the event web page.

People throughout the U.S. have dealt with high inflation and interest rates as we’ve inched out of the COVID-19 pandemic. As these economic conditions have been impacting Americans, the cannabis industry has been struggling, per reports.

“California’s adult-use cannabis dispensaries provided nearly $1.1 billion in state tax revenue in 2023, but the 6-year-old marketplace didn’t break any sales records,” according to the Cannabis Business Times . An op-ed in Marijuana Moment said “California is less than a $5 billion market today (and shrinking). The state has, by far, the lowest per capita sales of any mature cannabis market.”

According to the University of Colorado Boulder , Colorado’s cannabis industry has also “mellowed” recently.

Typically, tens of thousands of people head to Hippie Hill each year for the 4/20 celebration in the Sharon Meadows area of Golden Gate Park. This area was at the center of the 1960s counterculture movement in San Francisco, and organizers have called the 4/20 Hippie Hill party one of the few community traditions left in the city.

However, in recent years, the 4/20 festival has continued to grow and safety risks have increased, per the event website. For example, there were reports of violence, theft and excessive trash after the 2016 event.

While the event is taking a break this year, the site said that it will be back in 2025.

“We encourage everyone to go support their local equity brands, dispensaries, and lounges on 4/20 as we all celebrate plant medicine,” said the notice.

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