Hawaii’s first marijuana dispensaries are celebrating today the unofficial — and previously underground — pakalolo holiday known as 420.
Dispensaries are going all out with sales, educational seminars and even bringing in experts to speak to the community about the benefits of the drug, which is still illegal under federal law.
“In this industry it’s cannabis’ holiday. It’s our Black Friday, Christmas, July 4 — all wrapped into one,” said Helen Cho, spokeswoman for Aloha Green Apothecary, Oahu’s first dispensary with more than 3,000 patients. “It’s a big deal that 420 is now a date that most people know of. That means a lot. If you asked in Hawaii even like three or four years ago, it would only be people in the black market who knew about it, really. It was kind of like an underground cultural thing. There wasn’t a lot of support.”
The holiday is part of recognizing how far the nation has come in legitimizing cannabis through activism and education, she said.
“This is the first 420 that we can celebrate in the state with dispensaries actually open, and that’s really exciting,” she added. “We’re one of the big boys now. We’re like the other states that have legalized marijuana medically. It’s a milestone for us and for the community. When something that’s specific to the cannabis industry starts showing up in mainstream society, it’s a sign that cannabis is becoming more accepted.”
What started as a code made up by a group of California high school students in the 1970s has become part of a wider cannabis culture. (The number refers to 4:20 p.m., the time the teens would meet to smoke pot and search for free bud supposedly planted nearby, according to history.com.)
Today, dispensaries are using the date as a way to promote the burgeoning industry. Pot retailers are
prohibited by law from advertising but are informing customers about specials today.
Aloha Green will introduce new products along with giveaways and discounts that include 25 percent off cannabidiol, or CBD — a natural compound with medical benefits that doesn’t cause psychosis.
Maui Grown Therapies is using the day as an “opportunity to really kind of redirect people’s focus on the medical use of cannabis.”
“Four-twenty has long been associated with celebrating adult recreational use,” said Teri Gorman, spokeswoman for the company, which has brought in Los Angeles author Michael Backes to speak with patients about the use of CBD and the distinction between different strains of marijuana. The dispensary is cutting prices today by
20 to 50 percent.
“It’s kind of an unofficial holiday for cannabis,” said Backes, author of “Cannabis Pharmacy” and educational director for Maui Grown Therapies. “I use it as an opportunity every year to talk up the medicinal use of cannabis. Everybody has medical conditions at one time or another that could potentially benefit from cannabis as a medicine. It was the most prescribed medicine in the 19th century in the United States. There are over 30 states now with medical cannabis laws. We’re going through a renaissance.”
Cure Oahu is also celebrating the holiday with specials, including $4.20 for a gram of “cookie wreck,” normally $20 a gram, and $4.20 for a half-ounce of tincture with the purchase of a product.
“It’s a great opportunity to sort of show how many people are actually familiar not only with this as a form of medicine, but it’s allowing those people that haven’t been very comfortable about being open about having (marijuana) cards,” said Tori Staples, assistant dispensary director at Cure Oahu. “It’s comforting for them to feel like they’re a part of something much bigger. Now with all these laws passing, they’re really able to sort of rejoice and not be oppressed with being a medical cannabis patient.”
