Long wait times at some large dispensaries, no wait at others, but all shops are breathing a sigh of relief over the Chauvin verdict.

The cancelled 4/20 at Hippie Hill (and SFist popped by, there’s nothing but police and fences) was not going to cancel the marijuana smoking plans of San Francisco cannabis enthusiasts. And lo and behold they are lined up at dispensaries across town for this storied stoner holiday, though oddly, some shops have dozens and dozens in line, yet their nearby competitors have no lines at all. But one common thread among dispensaries on the 4/20 is relief over the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, likely eliminating the risk of unrest in the streets and the looting specific to cannabis dispensaries that we saw last May and June.

Savvy pot shoppers can normally whack down their weed wait time by ordering in advance and doing curbside pickup.  But that didn’t even work today at the Mission and 21st St. dispensary Purple Star, where both walk-in and advance order customers were in lines at least a dozen long. And no, neither of those lines is for the El Techo roof, as El Techo does not open til 4 p.m., and this photo was taken at 1 p.m.

Yet a mere 600 feet away at Mission Cannabis Club, there is no line or wait whatsoever, despite that this place has gone through the trouble of getting balloons and such.

A similar scene played out further down Mission Street near 29th, where the shop Stiiizy Mission had a lengthy line, yet there was no one in line right around the corner at Urbana Mission, nor up one block at Dr. Green Thumbs.  

The biggest line we encountered was at the Castro Apothecarium, whose line wound down the block.

Way up in the Upper Haight, where the action is in a normal year, Berner’s on Height had a mere four people in line when we walked by. Yet it did still serve as an attraction, as a branded tent was celebrating Taco Tuesday with tacos available on this 4/20 that fell on a Tuesday.

The more serious matter today, of course, was the Derek Chauvin trial verdict, and the SFPD did meet with a group of dispensary owners in regards to their plans for the contingency of an acquittal, and the likely unrest and looting threats to cannabis dispensaries. That cloud of uncertainty surely hung over shop owners’ minds up until the guilty verdict was announced around 2:30.

But one 4/20 disappointment was that we did not get to see a line at the Cafe Flore-adjacent Flore Store dispensary in the Castro, whose grand opening had been scheduled for today. That grand opening is still coming, though the shop appears to still be doing some interior work. SFist did pop its head in, and we shit you not, they have a redwood tree they are installing in the store.

Related: 4/20 Cancelled Again, As Rec and Parks Vows Hippie Hill Will Be Fenced Off [SFist]

Image: Joe Kukura