San Francisco's notorious 4/20 event at Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park has been canceled.
A statement at the event's website reads:
"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 and economy we have been unable to secure enough financial sponsorship to get everything required for a safe, clean, city and state compliant event. We encourage everyone to go support their local equity brands, dispensaries and lounges on 4/20 as we all celebrate plant medicine. We will be back next year!"
In recent years, 420 Hippie Hill had teamed up with the city's Recreation and Parks Department on the event.
"The city’s in a budget crunch," explains SF Recreation and Park spokesperson Tamara Barak Aparton. "We just couldn’t cover the extra staff time, the overtime of rangers and the cleanup, so it was going to be more expensive."
Last year, 20,000 people attended the event that had a stage, vendor tents and 150 portable toilets.
"Unfortunately with the cannabis industry so bad right now, we didn’t have enough sponsor support with the cannabis industry like we did in the past," organizer Alex Aquino tells KTVU.
4/20 events are a relatively new phenonenon that started pre-legalization in states like Califiornia and Colorado. It's now a nationwide movement with hundreds of events scheduled this year during 420 Week (Apr. 16-21).
Northern California was the birthplace of 420.
Some 4/20 fans are not giving up on the Hippie Hill celebration. Alex Leal posted:
"Yeah right, people are still going to flock to SF. Organized event or not."
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