A highly historic feature could be puffing up at this year’s SF Pride celebration, with Civic Center Plaza planning to host SF Pride’s first-ever legal marijuana sales and consumption area — though the permit has technically not been approved yet.
We have had only a smattering of large SF events with legal outdoor cannabis sales since Outside Lands was the first to do it back in 2019. Then COVID hit. But Outside Lands resumed their cannabis sales when that festival returned, 4/20 at Hippie Hill fired up legal marijuana sales in 2022 (though that event was technically canceled this year), and Carnaval had cannabis sales briefly, but appears to have discontinued that promotion.
But now we might have the biggest festival with legal, cannabis sales ever in San Francisco. SF Pride just announced they will have a “cannabis zone” for 2024, with both legal sales and a smoking area. The HOTTBOXX Cannabis Retail and Consumption Area plans to be open and operating at Civic Center Plaza both Saturday and Sunday, for both days’ SF Pride Celebration events.
That said, the cannabis sales permits for this event have not been finalized. “A permit has not been issued yet,” the SF Office of Cannabis says in a statement to SFist. “The prospective event organizer is actively navigating through the temporary event processes at both the state and local levels. The local permit application is pending.”
These permits are often granted at the very last minute. That first-ever cannabis event permit for Outside Lands in 2019 was not granted until two days before the event. And SF Pride seems to be moving forward as if they expect the green light.
“Fig & Thistle Apothecary to celebrate the rich history of both Cannabis and PRIDE culture in San Francisco with HOTTBOXX, the first-ever outdoor cannabis event at SF Pride,” according to the SF Pride website. “Meet Exhibitors showcasing their products and make purchases from Retailers consisting of approximately 20 booths.”
And yes, you are likely to be able to blaze up there. “A designated Consumption Area will be available for attendees to safely smoke and consume Cannabis purchased products,” that organization adds.
“We’re going to smoke loud and proud,” DJ Dank (Dan Karkoska), producer and host of the events Bong-o Bingo and PUFF that will both be at the HOTTBOXX area both days, tells SFist.
There would be no alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs allowed in the area, as is the case with all permitted cannabis events in the state of California.
The entertainment schedule for both days is seen above, and Sunday will feature performances by the notorious weed-smoking drag queen Laganja Estranja from Season 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. (A full schedule of performers is seen at the bottom of this post.)
This cannabis area will be at the southeast corner of Civic Center Plaza. “We’re going to be in the Civic Center area, right in front of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, that whole block,” DJ DANK explains. “It will be a large, fenced-off space.”
Entry is free, but only 21 and over can be admitted, and a valid ID will be required for entry.
“In the front area, there’s going to be around 10 different demo booths with different cannabis products that are all sponsors of the space," according to DJ DANK. “There will be three purchasing areas, where you can actually purchase all the cannabis that you're seeing there.”
“If you actually want to light up, you have to move over to the consumption area, which would be more towards Polk,” DJ DANK explains. “That’s where you’ll find me.” We’re told the area will also have a DJ booth, water stations, and restrooms.
So whose fabulous cannabis products can we expect, should the permits come through? The Flore Dispensary is listed as a presenting sponsor, which is highly appropriate, since the Castro’s Cafe Flore is the very location at which legendary cannabis activists Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary first hashed out the wording of the 1996 Prop. 215 medicinal marijuana measure that was the first true marijuana legalization measure in the United States.
Vendors scheduled to be selling include vape brand Jetty Extracts, respected flower purveyor Autumn Brands, and Kiva Confections’ gummy line Camino, among others.
Both days will start with Bong-o Bingo, the twice-monthly cannabis bingo event normally held at Mission Cannabis Club. (That event is $10 admission, and runs from 12-2 pm Saturday, and 11am-1pm Sunday.)
“We're going to have a big giant vat of prizes, and then all the winners get to reach in and grab,” according to DJ DANK. “There will be different levels of prizes, maybe you’ll win a couple joints, maybe you’ll win a bunch of stuff.”
On Sunday, Laganja Estranja will headline the weed-theme drag show PUFF, though there will be PUFF shows on both days.
“She’ll be doing a few numbers, and then doing a meet-and-greet afterwards at the information booths,” says DJ DANK. So maybe you can get Laganja to autograph your pre-roll joint container?
Should the city and state permits come through, the HOTTBOXX Cannabis Retail and Consumption Area will be operating at Civic Center Plaza on Saturday, June 29 from 12-6 pm, and Sunday June 30 from 11 am-6 pm. Cannabis sales would cut off at 5 pm on both days.
Related: There Will Be Legal Marijuana Sales and Smoking at the California State Fair This Year [SFist]
Image: Laganja Estranja via Facebook
