Filed Under: The Hijacked Holiday
They told us legalization would fix everything. They said weed won. But if 4/20 is supposed to be a celebration, why does it feel like a clearance sale with a broken soul?
Weed is legal in 24 states. You can buy a THC seltzer at a wine bar, take a gummy before brunch, and scroll past influencer ads for infused lube. But somewhere in that glossy noise, we lost the signal.
4/20 used to mean something. It was subversive. It was code. It was the smell of protest drifting across a college lawn while a cop took notes from fifty feet away. Now it’s tie-dye font and a QR code for $10 off a strain named after cereal.
Where It Started: 4/20 Was Never About Convenience
Before the sidewalk signs and vape sponsorships, 4/20 was a whisper. A muttered code between heads. It came from the Waldos, high school kids who used “4:20” as their time to hunt for weed. The search didn’t matter. The ritual did.
It spread through Deadheads, zines, mixtapes, and underground heads. It meant more because it was never supposed to mean anything. It was unofficial. It was sacred. And most of all, it was ours.
Legal Now. But for whom?
The cannabis industry is projected to hit $40 billion in 2025. You can buy a branded bong in Times Square. You can invest in cannabis ETFs. But cops are still arresting people for the same flower being sold in corporate dispensaries with marble countertops.
In 2023, there were 227,000 cannabis-related arrests in the U.S. Most were for possession. The targets? Still overwhelmingly Black, Brown, and poor. And in states where weed is legal, former legacy growers are facing felonies while suits pitch “vertical integration” to investors over cocktails.
Social equity is the punchline now. In New York, lawsuits and red tape choke out licenses for the very communities these programs were created for. In California, paperwork is the product. While small growers fight to stay afloat, celebrities skip the line.
The New 4/20: Branded Freedom and Empty Promises
Modern 4/20 events look like trade expos with DJ booths. Celebration is fine. But this isn’t celebration. It’s a rebrand. A slick veneer covering an industry still chewing up the people who made it possible.
Dispensaries throw “freedom sales” while calling the cops on unlicensed vendors. Multi-state operators post MLK quotes to promote their pre-rolls. Influencers sell $60 eighths in zip codes where ounces used to run $80 flat.
This isn’t evolution. It’s absorption.
What’s Still Worth Fighting For?
Ask the ones who were here before legalization, and they’ll say it plain. We didn’t get here by voting politely and waiting in line. We got here because people took risks, ran from cops, shared seeds, and spoke up when silence was safer.
The Drug War didn’t end. It put on a polo and a name badge.
We still don’t have federal legalization. We don’t have mass expungement. We don’t have fair tax structures. We don’t have true access in red states. And we sure as hell don’t have justice for the ones who carried this culture before it was profitable.
So Why Still Celebrate?
Because lighting up with your crew still means something. Because honoring the ones who didn’t make it to see legalization matters. Because even if the corporations try to slap a barcode on it, the ritual survives.
If 4/20 is a mirror now, let it show the cracks. Let it reflect the ones locked out. Let it spark something that matters. Something worth building. Something worth fixing.
If it still feels like defiance, then it’s still worth showing up for.
HAPPY 420 EVERYONE! May your flame burn clean, your herb stay green, and your circle stay solid—may the smoke you share carry truth, peace, and rebellion wherever it drifts.
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