Dispensaries do brisk business for 4/20

OAKLAND, Calif. - Marijuana dispensaries are doing a brisk business in advance of the annual 420 celebration of cannabis. 

At Harborside in Oakland, there was a line out the door at times Thursday evening.

"I feel like 4/20 is a little more of an event this year absolutely," said staffer Morgan Tano. " And I'd say about a third of the customers are here for the special holiday." 

This wil be the first 4/20 since the sale of recreational marijuana was legalized in January. It has removed taboos among customers who might have shunned illegal weed.

"Sleep! I need a very good, gentle way to put you to sleep," customer Kristina Milam told KTVU, as she consulted with Tano about various strains and products. 

"Here's something that's going to keep you body-buzzy but still really relaxed," Tano advised. 

It was Milam's first time in a dispensary.
"It's much nicer than I expected," she enthused, "and people are very very friendly. It was good, a nice experience to come in." 

San Francisco's famed 4/20 celebration in Golden Gate Park is expected to be even bigger than ever, although also a more structured event, with fences, security, and an over-18 age requirement. 

At Harborside, a St. Louis couple had come straight from their flight's arrival at Oakland Airport to stock up. 

"We couldn't wait to come and do something legal that's not legal where we live, it's part of our California vacation," said Lee Kemple. 

Friday, the Kemples will visit the wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge, then wrap up the day at Hippie Hill, otherwise known as Sharon Meadow. 

"That's where we're going, we'll see the other sights on the way, and then go to 420, then  sleep all day Saturday!"

Anand Anderson of Oakland, 22,  will be part of the mellow mob.

He attends every year with his buddies.  

"I love the idea of a day, when a bunch of people just go to the park to hang out all together," Anderson told KTVU, "and I'm going to bring a couple of extra sandwiches, and hope that I find someone that wants a sandwich and maybe they'll share their joint with me. I don't really care- just the giving and taking relationship." 

Under the "adult use" law, smoking marijuana in public is not allowed.

But 4/20 is a day, if any, that prohibition will be tested, if not widely ignored.