Token Celebration! NYC kicks off annual 4/20 marijuana celebration with vendors selling weed and edibles for stoners in Washington Square Park and Mike Tyson preparing to party in Kansas City
- Celebrations of the internationally-observed cannabis holiday are kicking off
- In Washington Square Park weed-smokers were out in increased numbers
- Celebrations on the west coast will reach full-swing at around 4.20pm PDT
The annual 4/20 celebration of cannabis is under away across the US.
In Washington Square Park in New York – a popular spot among smokers year-round – gatherings were larger and aromas were richer than usual.
As reggae music sounded out, vendors set up tables to sell the cannabis flower, pre-rolled joints and edible THC products. Also on sale were budding cannabis seedlings, ready to be taken home and eventually cultivated into flowering plants.
One man was equipped with hand-held ‘cloud cannon’ which he used to dowse willing attendants in plumes of marijuana smoke.
Celebrations on the west coast are not expected to reach full-swing until around 4.20pm PDT.
On April 20 in Washington Square Park in New York, gatherings were larger and aromas were richer than usual. An elated man is pictured sitting behind a plastic table, basking in the sun, holding up a joint, and selling his wares
People were selling the cannabis flower as well as small plants which could be taken home and cultivated
The origins of ‘420’ as an internationally observed weed holiday are generally unknown.
In recent years, though, a consensus has emerged around the most credible explanation: that it was started in the 1970s by a group of students at San Rafael High School in California, who would meet each day after lessons at 4.20pm and smoke a joint.
The term then became associated with cannabis more generally, and eventually 4/20 was translated into April 20. Since the day is observed around the world – in countries where weed is both legal and illegal – celebrations vary.
In some places its an opportunity for disgruntled smokers to protest laws criminalizing the plant, in others its a celebration among its devotees that the plant merely exists.
A man dressed in a fitting hoodie exhales smoke as he smokes a joint in Washington Square Park on Thursday afternoon
Different vendors sold different varieties of cannabis on folding tables around the Washington Square Park fountain
Smokers that weren’t into the idea of having to roll their own joints had the option of buying them pre-rolled
Technology has revolutionized marijuana consumption. A woman in Washington Square Park is pictured selling electronic weed vapes
In Kansas City, heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson and wrestler Ric Flair were preparing to attend the Smokey Rivers 420 Fest, where Wiz Khalifa will be headlining.
Tyson is promoting his brand, Tyson 2.0, on a tour of several states.
Recently Tyson 2.0 introduced Mike Bites, cannabis edibles in the shape of an ear with a bite mark – an homage to Tyson’s historic 1997 fight against Evander Holyfield in which he bit off a chunk of his opponent’s ear.
The product propelled his brand to new heights, taking advantage of loosening cannabis laws around the county.
‘They’re sold out, you can’t find any,’ Tyson said in an interview with Cannabis & Tech Today regarding Mike Bites.
