Experiential is getting high on its own supply

There was a whole lotta pot talk when people celebrated the weed-friendly “holiday” 4/20 this year — even Wall Street got its buzz on, with “smoking hot” cannabis stocks as investors bet big on consumer products tied to marijuana and CBD. Of course, all of this talk about the budding industry got us wondering when — note that we’re not saying “if” — we’ll start to see cannabis play a more widespread role in the XP we’re encountering and creating. This is one trend we’re pretty sure won’t go up in smoke.

In New York City, where weed was recently legalized, a range of experiences were on offer for those looking to partake in the first legal 4/20 holiday (holidaze?). There was a “Joints for Jabs” giveaway in Union Square Park, which is exactly what it sounds like (yes, proof of vaccination earned you a free joint); there was a panel of cannabis professionals offering tips to a fancy-cocktail-sipping audience (unclear on the THC content of the libations) on how to grow your own pot and cook with it; and there was even a parade, culminating in a weed advocacy forum at 4:20 p.m., because of course.

The legalization movement has already sparked innovation in the restaurant space. West Hollywood’s Cannabis Cafe, the country’s first weed restaurant, serves up a marijuana menu along with its food menu (it’s currently closed because of the pandemic). Your ID gets swiped when you arrive — you must be 21 to enter — and the restaurant’s super-powered air filtration system ensures that your culinary enjoyment is not muted by plumes of pungent smoke.

The Bay Area’s upscale Claremont Hotel, normally a stuffy affair, started offering a food-and-weed pairing this year, though the pot part of the meal has to be procured from a participating dispensary. And a number of national chains offered 420-friendly food deals. The social acceptability of weed is clearly on the rise — this Detroit restaurant’s don’t-come-in-smelling-like-pot policy notwithstanding — and we see green XP in all of our futures.

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