Getting lit! Stoners around the US and Canada celebrate the biggest 420 day EVER at public festivals after a tenth state legalizes recreational weed
Stoners from around the United States and Canada are celebrating the ever biggest 420 - the national day for marijuana enthusiasts - after a tenth state voted to legalize the drug.
Pot heads attended huge public events in Denver, Colorado, San Francisco, California and the National Cannabis Festival in Washington, DC to puff up in unison.
The celebrations were bigger than ever this year after ten US states and Washington DC legalized recreational marijuana in the past few years, with many more decriminalizing.
Smokers posted their festivities online as marijuana users celebrated their love of the drug on April 20.
Stoners have for decades celebrated their love of the drug on this day, but the once counter-culture celebration that was all about getting stoned now is so mainstream Corporate America is starting to embrace it.
Stoners from around the United States and Canada are celebrating the ever biggest 420 - the national day for marijuana enthusiasts - after a tenth state voted to legalize the drug. Instagram user @_worldstop_ celebrates 420 Day in New York. The CBD market has also exploded with CBD oil found in candies, coffee and other food, drinks and dietary supplements, along with perfume, lotions, creams and soap
Marijuana normalization has snowballed since 2012, when Colorado and Washington were the first states to legalize recreational use. Left, Instagram user @shawn_chimney celebrates 420 Day on April 20, 2019 in Brooklyn. Right, Instagram user @thehospitality206 celebrates 420 Day in Los Angeles
Pot heads attended huge public events in Denver, Colorado (pictured) , San Francisco, California and the National Cannabis Festival in Washington, DC to puff up in unison
Stoners from around the United States and Canada are celebrating the ever biggest 420 - the national day for marijuana enthusiasts - after a tenth state voted to legalize the drug (pictured is a marijuana rally in Denver, Colorado)
A woman smokes during the annual 420 marijuana celebration in Vancouver, British Columbia on Saturday
Canada marked the first 420 Day since the country legalized recreational pot at the end of last year.
On Saturday, Lyft offered a $4.20 credit on a single ride in Colorado and in select cities in the U.S. and Canada.
Carl's Jr. is using a Denver restaurant to market a hamburger infused with CBD, a non-intoxicating molecule found in cannabis that many believe is beneficial to their health.
Marijuana normalization has snowballed since 2012, when Colorado and Washington were the first states to legalize recreational use. Eight more followed, including California, Oregon and Michigan.
Medical marijuana is now legal in two-thirds of the states, with conservative-leaning Utah and Oklahoma among recent additions.
Meantime, the CBD market has exploded. CBD oil can be found in candies, coffee and other food, drinks and dietary supplements, along with perfume, lotions, creams and soap. Proponents say CBD helps with pain, anxiety and inflammation, though limited scientific research supports those claims.
U.S. retail sales of cannabis products jumped to $10.5 billion last year, a threefold increase from 2017, according to data from Arcview Group, a cannabis investment and market research firm. The figures do not include retail sales of hemp-derived CBD products.
Budtender CJ Raye prepares Marijuana samples at the Welcome to Cannacity - 'She's Smokin' Event on Saturday in California
A woman throws free joints into the crowd during the annual 4-20 marijuana celebration in Vancouver. It was the first year Canadians could recreational marijuana following a nearly century-long ban
Smoke hangs over the crowd as people smoke at 4:20 p.m. during the annual 4-20 marijuana celebration '420 Day' demonstration in Vancouver, Canada. Thousands celebrated there after the country officially became the first industrialized nation to legalize the drug in October 2018
Landon Phillips exhales while smoking during the annual 4-20 marijuana celebration in Vancouver, British Columbia
A man exhales while smoking during the annual 420 marijuana celebration in Vancouver, British Columbia. In Canada, it marked the first 420 Day since the country legalized recreational pot at the end of last year
People try to catch free joints that were thrown into the crowd during the annual 4-20 marijuana celebration in Vancouver on Saturday. Countries around the globe, many of whom are just approving medical marijuana, are watching Canada's recreational legalization, which combines federal rules with varying provincial regulations
Verano Holdings, whose businesses include cannabis shops, sponsors street festivals in Chicago and Tulsa, Oklahoma, where attendees can learn about marijuana products, listen to music and grab a bite.
The company expects this Saturday's festival in Chicago, going on its third year, will draw more than 4,000 people. Last year, it drew 1,500, said Tim Tennant, Verano's chief marketing officer.
In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Hippie Hill will again be the site of a 420 celebration. Last year, more than 15,000 attended the event, which has transformed from a small informal gathering into a full-blown festival of corporate sponsors and commercial booths selling smoking devices, T-shirts and food.
As pot heads congregated April 20 meant big business for the dispensaries in the states where it is legal.
Huge crowds celebrate 420 Day in San Francisco after a tenth state legalized recreational weed in the past year
Crowds celebrate 420 Day in San Francisco, left and the 420 Nurses attend the Kushstock Festival in Adelanto, California, right. Medical marijuana is now legal in two-thirds of the states, with conservative-leaning Utah and Oklahoma among recent additions
Thousands flocked to downtown Denver to celebrate marijuana, many to attend the annual festival in Civic Center Park
Thousands of stoners from around the US are celebrating 420 day after ten states legalized recreational weed
Comedian Jeffrey Peterson performs at the Welcome to Cannacity. In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Hippie Hill will again be the site of a 420 celebration after more than 15,000 attended the event last year
Tommy Chong and Richard 'Cheech' Marin shake hands and sign autographs outside of Commencement Bay Cannabis in Tacoma, Washington. The once counter-culture celebration that was all about getting stoned now is so mainstream Corporate America is starting to embrace it
U.S. retail sales of cannabis products jumped to $10.5 billion last year, a threefold increase from 2017
The Kushstock Festival in Adelanto, California, Saturday. In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Hippie Hill has transformed from a small informal gathering into a full-blown festival of corporate sponsors and commercial booths selling smoking devices, T-shirts and food
It was the first year Canadians could recreational marijuana following a nearly century-long ban.
Thousands celebrated in Vancouver, British Columbia after the country officially became the first industrialized nation to legalize the drug in October 2018 following a two-year push by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, which hopes to bring dealers out of the black market and into a regulated system.
Countries around the globe, many of whom are just approving medical marijuana, are watching Canada's recreational legalization, which combines federal rules with varying provincial regulations.
The move is a political win for Trudeau, who vowed to legalize cannabis in his 2015 election campaign to take profits away from organized crime and to regulate the production, distribution and consumption of a product that millions of Canadians have been consuming illegally.
