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Coronavirus Pandemic Cancels Annual '420 Hippie Hill' Cannabis Celebration In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The annual celebration of all things cannabis in San Francisco, the 420 Hippie Hill celebration in Golden Gate Park on April 20th, has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The organizers of the event made the announcement on the official 420 Hippie Hill website.

Due to the ongoing concerns around COVID-19 The 420 Hippie Hill celebration on April 20th, 2020 in Golden Gate Park has been cancelled.

We take the health & safety of the public, our staff, vendors, and sponsors very seriously. We feel it's all of our responsibility to do our part to minimize social gathering and potential spread of this virus in the community.

We are working closely with our local city departments as well community partners and will announce any further details as soon as we have more.

Thank you for your understanding and support. See you next year.

Last year, some 14,000 people gathered at the annual marijuana celebration at Hippie Hill, also known as Robin Williams Meadow - a few thousand fewer than the previous year's gathering in 2018, the first one following California's legalization of recreational cannabis use. The event features music, vendors, and a seemingly unlimited amount of cannabis edibles, bongs, blunts along with munchies for sale.

Many of the state's cannabis dispensaries have stayed open for business - whether for walk-in customers or delivery/pickup only - as they were deemed essential businesses during the public health order of sheltering at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Data from cannabis market research institute Headset shows marijuana sales spiked in California during the second and third week of March before returning to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the month.

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