Sponsored
upper waypoint
Thousands gather at Golden Gate Park to celebrate 4/20. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)
Thousands gather at Golden Gate Park to celebrate 4/20. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)

Video: 4/20 Brings Extra 'Fog' Over Golden Gate Park

Video: 4/20 Brings Extra 'Fog' Over Golden Gate Park

Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

Here are some reasons for handwringing about 4/20, the annual unsanctioned pot smokeout in Golden Gate Park: One man was arrested Monday night after assaulting a park employee, and there were two robberies. And last year the celebration cost the city more than $100,000.

But the city was better prepared this year than in the past, with crews returning Hippie Hill to normal by Tuesday morning.

The event itself was mostly a mellow scene. Lots of sitting around, sleeping and, of course, smoking.

“Dabs,” concentrated cannabis cooked down to the consistency of tree sap, seemed especially popular, with devotees using a blowtorch on the smoking device’s heating element, and then vaporizing a dab of the waxy cannabis concentrate with the hot metal. Enthusiasts say it is a much more intense high than the kind delivered 48 years ago at the Summer of Love.

One entrepreneurial booth offered a 2-gram dab (which is a lot) for $10 a pop. A cheering crowd jockeyed to get a clear smartphone video shot of the brave customers.

Sponsored

There were people hawking pot-infused candy, brownies, butter, massages and even a pot-delivery app called Meadow, the Uber of weed.

Morris Geistgufel seemed a little surprised to find himself in the crowd. The German had a sunburn and chapped lips because he’s walking 3,000 miles from Sequoia National Park to Canada. Outside Santa Cruz, he heard about 4/20 and got a ride up.

“We have a lot of festivals,” said Geistgufel, “but you don’t get so many different people in Germany --  crazy hairstyles, crazy colors. It's nice.”

lower waypoint
next waypoint