Chicago celebrates marijuana holiday of 4/20 in style

CHICAGO - Thursday was 4/20, which is the day on the calendar that marijuana fans celebrate cannabis culture — and that is exactly what marijuana fans did in River North at the First Annual Green Rose 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary.

"I wanted to celebrate the holiday," said Marisa, who attended.

"4/20 is the National Cannabis Holiday," said Todd Patterson, Manager of Green Rose Dispensary. "I believe it comes from police code; they were saying, 'there's a 4-20' and that meant somebody had cannabis."

Green Rose Dispensary in River North opened up its parking lot to bands, food and drink vendors, and artisans to mark the occasion for the first time since the pandemic.

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"This event here was all about celebrating that, and celebrating our license because all the licenses were given out during COVID. So this type of celebration has never really happened in Chicago," said Patterson.

He called it a celebration of Chicago's cannabis culture.

"So we thought, why not have an event where people can come out, learn about the dispensary, listen to some good music, have some good food, and find out a little bit about cannabis if they want to," Patterson said.

"I feel like there's more and more dispensaries that are opening up, and more places allowing people to smoke, which is kind of nice because it's medicinal," said Marisa.

"It's been amazing because it's a culture that connects people. It's a positive outlet that's going to help Chicago grow, so it's a great thing for Chicago for 4/20," said Antonio, another attendee.

Thursday's event was just the first of what dispensary leaders say will be an annual celebration that will happen outside Green Rose Dispensary every year on 4/20.