Festivals and Cannabis: How American Events Are Battling for the Right to Consume
In early May, just outside California’s capital city of Sacramento, the region hosted its first-ever Cannabis Cup, a festival celebrating cannabis culture. For the first time, authorities legally allowed attendees to consume cannabis in public during the event. Although there were licensing challenges in the weeks leading up to the festival, state officials ultimately permitted High Times, the event’s sponsor, to set up designated smoking areas and sell cannabis products on-site.
This was a surprising and welcome development, especially considering that not long ago, Nevada and Colorado refused to cooperate with festival organizers who wanted to allow cannabis sales and consumption at their events. Just weeks earlier, the Cannabis Cup near San Bernardino, organized by High Times for International Cannabis Day, was held without open sales or consumption due to strong opposition from local authorities. Only a small group of medical cannabis users were allowed to consume on-site.
“We should thank Sacramento’s city hall for their progressive approach to the festival,” said Ngaio Bealum, a Sacramento native and well-known California cannabis comedian and activist. “I hope other cities in the state notice that the cannabis industry is a great source of revenue and a tourist attraction for all of California.”
Striking a Deal
According to High Times representatives, Sacramento’s city hall agreed to allow sales and smoking zones at the festival after the magazine and other sponsors agreed to pay higher fees for selling food and other consumer products at the event. The city used the profits to fund social and infrastructure projects.
Additionally, High Times pledged to donate $140,000 to the city to support community organizations and educational programs aimed at helping minorities and low-income residents. “High Times has supported the ideals of equality and social justice since its founding,” said Jason Kinney, an analyst at California Strategies, a longtime partner of the magazine and a mediator in the Sacramento deal. “As a project started by activists, High Times is always ready to help those in need. With this deal, the magazine not only wanted to hold the festival as planned but also help Sacramento quickly develop its local cannabis market. The city’s new reputation as California’s most progressive cannabis city will attract many new cannabis businesses to the region.”
Testing Legalization Laws
Even though Sacramento allowed cannabis sales and consumption at the 2018 Cannabis Cup, it doesn’t guarantee future cooperation with cannabis companies. Many city officials described the permit as a “test of legalization laws” rather than a sign of ongoing support for the growing cannabis industry. The festival went smoothly, with no major incidents reported by government inspectors, but city officials remain cautious about further supporting cannabis culture in California.
“This will be the first festival where open consumption and purchase of cannabis is allowed,” said Joe Devlin, head of the local cannabis regulation bureau, days before the event. “I hope it goes off without any major issues.” Devlin personally approved High Times’ application for the festival, and soon after, the state cannabis bureau also granted its approval. Interestingly, the bureau’s staff expressed enthusiasm for organizing more large-scale cannabis festivals, according to messages posted on their website.
Lori Ajax, head of the regional bureau, sent a letter to High Times expressing gratitude for the cooperation and hope for future collaboration: “It’s great to see regulators and festival organizers finally reach a compromise that satisfies everyone,” Ajax wrote. After San Bernardino authorities refused to allow cannabis sales and smoking zones, Ajax also warned that any business caught illegally selling or distributing cannabis at the festival risked losing its business licenses permanently.
“The upcoming event in San Bernardino will be the first state-approved cannabis festival in California’s history,” Ajax noted. “It’s crucial to avoid any violations so we can continue working together on similar events in other cities.”
Sales Quotas and Controls
Since the computerized system for tracking legal cannabis sales wasn’t yet active (it was set to launch later in the summer), inspectors from the cannabis bureau were present at the event to ensure that vendors didn’t sell more than the legal limit—no more than one ounce per person per day.
To help inspectors, organizers created a simple system: each festival guest received a wristband at the entrance, which was marked at each store they visited, recording every purchase. According to Kinney, this straightforward but effective system could be used at future cannabis festivals in California and beyond. Like many legalization advocates, he hopes authorities will eventually relax such strict controls.
“Think about it: nobody tracks alcohol consumption at beer or wine festivals, even though alcohol causes much more severe intoxication than cannabis,” Kinney said. “You wouldn’t go to Oktoberfest and have an inspector count every milliliter of beer you drink. But for now, cannabis festivals have to accept these conditions.”
In addition to wristbands, security checked guests’ bags both at the entrance and exit. “According to the agreement with the city, security had to check every attendee’s bag coming in and out,” Kinney explained. “This way, the cannabis bureau ensured no one left the festival with more than one ounce of cannabis.”
High Times also agreed to pay Sacramento a higher fee for selling consumer products at the festival. To get permission to sell cannabis, organizers had to accept a 4% higher tax on ticket sales and non-cannabinoid products. “In the end, the city treasury received over $200,000 thanks to the festival,” Kinney noted. The event also brought in many tourists, boosting local shops and restaurants during the festival days.
$140,000 Donation to Community Organizations
As a condition for holding the festival, High Times agreed to donate $140,000 to community organizations representing Sacramento’s minority groups. The funds will go to organizations fighting police violence and to youth programs that give low-income teens access to computer science education.
“Sacramento is now a center for the regional movement for social justice and U.S. justice system reform,” Kinney said. “We hope to continue supporting these organizations in the future.” He also hopes that investing in such programs will increase the number of minorities working in IT. “The cannabis industry can help society, especially by giving young people from African American and Latino communities access to careers in the growing U.S. economy,” Kinney added.
Chances for More Cannabis Festivals
Given the success of the recent festival, it’s likely that the Cannabis Cup and similar events will return to the region. John Javidan, organizer of BerryFest—a traditional berry harvest festival in Roseville, just half an hour from Sacramento—has worked with local cannabis activists and entrepreneurs for four years to organize a cannabis festival similar to other “harvest” festivals in California’s Central Valley.
“For a long time, local authorities refused to allow a cannabis festival that permitted consumption and sales of locally grown cannabis,” Javidan said. Officials and police worried that smoking at the festival would increase the risk of traffic accidents due to intoxicated drivers. When the Cannabis Cup was finally approved, many city council members still opposed allowing cannabis sales and smoking, but activists convinced skeptics to give the festival a chance.
“We pointed out to the city council that laws already prohibit driving under the influence of both legal and illegal substances, from alcohol and cannabis to prescription opioids,” Javidan explained. “Since police don’t have effective ways to detect many psychoactive substances, not just cannabis, we convinced the council to rely on festival-goers’ responsibility and the inspectors overseeing the event.”
The Emerald Cup Experience
Earlier this year, the San Francisco Chronicle studied the impact of cannabis festivals on public safety by examining the Emerald Cup in Santa Rosa. The two-day festival in December drew about 30,000 people. Local statistics showed no increase in minor or major offenses, nor in traffic accidents—the event went off without incident.
“That’s definitely something to be proud of,” said festival organizer Tim Blake. “We set an example for the whole state on how to properly organize a cannabis event. In five years, we haven’t had a single violation or police call. In fact, local firefighters and police thank us for following all safety rules.”
Javidan rejects the idea that Sacramento, a relatively conservative city for California, isn’t ready for cannabis reform or cannabis culture festivals. He notes that the city has more problems with regular sports games and concerts than with the Cannabis Cup. “Besides working with cannabis festival organizers, I also work closely with regional and national scouting organizations,” Javidan said. “These organizations and their sponsors know about my ties to High Times, and it doesn’t bother them at all. In fact, some have even asked me for tickets to the festival. It’s funny that they don’t openly advertise their liberal views on cannabis.”
Javidan expects that many people who attended the High Times festival will also come to BerryFest at the end of the month. “Interestingly, most attendees at events like the Emerald and Cannabis Cup are locals who don’t fit the cannabis user stereotype,” he said. “For them, it’s a great chance to relax and enjoy live music.”
Of course, smoking was only allowed in designated areas at the festival. Smoking in the concert zone was strictly prohibited. “California hosts many concerts and festivals where people illegally smoke cannabis in dark corners. We managed to organize an event where cannabis could be consumed openly, in a special area,” said Devlin. “This festival is just the first demonstration that this model of designated smoking zones at public events works well in practice.”