The stoners celebrated, as they always do, this 4/20 in Denver. But their celebration looked much different than in years past.
“I feel like we’re categorically changing this event,” said Bobby Reginelli, marketing director for Euflora, the dispensary chain that took over the permit for this year’s rally. “We want it to be secure, we want it to be a lot more organized, professionally run and clean.”
“You don’t see any trash right now…it’s looking pretty good.”
Euflora took over the permit after it was stripped from Miguel Lopez, who had led the rally for years before. Lopez lost the permit after 2017’s festival, when Civic Center Park was left in disarray.
He appealed that decision and lost his appeal.
“We’ve got over 19 different genres of music represented this year,” Reginelli said. “Three times as many vendors.”
Euflora has beefed up security at the event, adding double fencing around the park, metal detectors at the entrances, and 80 more security guards than in years past.
The festival also features more vendors and less political talk about marijuana policy.
“Cannabis is going mainstream and as that happens we are really trying to make sure we are inclusive of all of the communities that want to be here and celebrate this," Reginelli said.
Lopez was at the festival Friday morning. He says he was walking around to make sure all the vendors were in compliance with city law.
“The grassroots is missing and monopoly and big business and government is present,” he said. “The fanfare is misleading the people that everything is okay when it’s still federally illegal, you can’t smoke in Denver housing authority if you’re a patient with cancer.”
