Exploitation, corporatization, competition: How legalizing weed killed 420

A man in a hat, suit, tie and overcoat leans over a pile of joints on a desktop.

By Christian OrozcoAssistant Editor, De Los

April 20, 2024 10:35 AM PT

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, April 20. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

The weed industry is rife with worker exploitation, abuse, conflicts of interest and social inequality. Does that ruin the holiday?
USC canceled pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s graduation speech.
Where to eat and drink near Dodger Stadium before or after a game.
And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

How legalizing weed killed 420

When a clock or a calendar hits 420, a stoner gains a smile.

The numbers, pronounced “four-twenty,” are a code for anyone who wants to partake in an herbal remedy, whether it be smoking a joint, hitting a bong, sparking up a blunt or eating an edible.

A group of friends from San Rafael High School claim to have coined the term in 1971.

What began as a time to meet up and smoke turned into a code to communicate without their teachers overhearing. After hanging out with the Grateful Dead and the Dead Head community, the group’s phrase caught on.

Since then, April 20 has become an annual celebration that comes in many forms: a festival, a party or a session with the homies in an empty parking lot.

In the eight years since marijuana was legalized in California for recreational use, 420 has been like a weed Black Friday.

Text and email promotions flood inboxes with deals on grams, eighths, edibles and vapes for the industry’s biggest retail day of the year.

But it has also become a reminder: California’s weed industry is rife with issues from the top to bottom.

Worker exploitation has become rampant in the industry

Nearly 600 drivers and depot staff for Eaze, a California cannabis delivery company, threatened a strike ahead of April 20, my colleague Suhauna Hussain reported. Three days before 420, Eaze said they reached a settlement to avert a work stoppage across California.

Other parts of the industry have been plagued, too.

Workers who harvest weed have been exploited
Communities harmed by criminalization didn’t get what they needed
Researchers faced accusations of conflicts of interest
Corruption and questionable conduct rocked local governments across California

L.A. Times investigations led to California regulators assembling a team to pursue labor exploitation in the state’s weed industry.

Corporatization has changed the holiday

San Francisco canceled its annual 420 fest, my colleague Andrew Campa reported, but not too many seemed sad to hear it. William Dolan, CEO of San Francisco-based Hyrba Marketplace dispensary, told Campa the event held at Hippie Hill had become “corporatized and over-regulated.”

“420 in GG Park has a long, storied history that dates back for decades before the fences, ID checks, and litany of restrictions that came along with a city-sponsored and corporate-backed event,” Dolan said via an email statement.

Yesterday, my colleague Salvador Hernandez reported, “a self-described psychedelic church says it will step in to help support the thousands of people expected to still make the ‘religious pilgrimage.’”

Church of Ambrosia Pastor Dave Hodges told Hernandez that he sees this as a “religious event.”

Competition has made it hard for dispensaries to succeed, even the big ones

MedMen described themselves as an Apple store for weed and attempted to create an image of the new-age stoner that bucked the old stereotype of lazy potheads.

Then came competition and copy cats that took aim at MedMen’s clientele.

“Once valued at over a billion and a half dollars, MedMen has since seen its stock plummet to zero,” my colleague Marisa Gerber reported. “Amid a flurry of lawsuits over alleged mismanagement and failure to pay its bills, the company’s chief executive and board chairman stepped down in January. And in recent weeks, MedMen has closed almost all of its 13 California locations.”

We can still have fun!

While none of these stories should factor into one’s decision to spark up on a Saturday that happens to fall on April 20, it’s clear that legalization has not led to weed utopia.

But I am not a complete buzzkill. 420 began as a camaraderie-building practice whether those San Rafael teenagers knew it or not, and from there it blossomed into a community before an industry was even a thought.

I’ll be home today watching “The Big Lebowski.” If you want to be, too, here are some guides to help.

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Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

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How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your weekend

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Going out

⚾ Where to eat and drink near Dodger Stadium before or after a game.
⛔ Topanga Canyon could remain closed into the fall after massive landslide.
🌮 🦪 Benny Blanco takes us on a ‘bang bang’ for his favorite Thai food, tacos and oysters.

Staying in

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(Times staff and wire photos)

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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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