The Black Friday of the Cannabis Industry is rapidly approaching, and as we all know this is the day your sales volume hits record highs. This year, it is predicted to be the largest year for the cannabis industry. Due to its’ wider acceptance, statistics have shown an increase in individuals who are partaking in the consumption both medically and recreationally. With the year being 2020, those studying the industry predict the whole month of April to have an increase in sales and consumption, as the whole month will be ‘4/20’. As marijuana dispensaries across the nation prepare for the busy week, it is important for them to accurately prepare for the increased demand. In order to best prepare for this day of celebration it is important to know the background of this popular day.

PREPARATION TACTICS

No one can accurately predict the exact number of customers any one dispensary will have on this ever-growing day of celebration. Fortunately, as years go by, dispensaries will become more familiar with the number of people and traffic at their location, and in turn will be able to better make preparations and predictions for upcoming years. As the industry continues to grow, one way to be prepared, is for companies and dispensaries to pre-order packaging and labels to accommodate the higher demand. Another way to be prepared, is to invest in industry beneficial machinery. Nothing is worse than having enough product, but not enough packaging or labels to be able to sell.

There are few companies that are equipped to aid the cannabis industry due to the unique needs and strict regulations. However, companies such as THC Solutions are successfully able to fill those needs. THC Solutions which stands for The House of Custom Solutions, offers A to Z services including custom designing, printing, labeling and packaging needs. Additionally, they sell their machinery that does the printing and labeling to customers. Allowing clientele to print and label containers in-house to keep up with demands as they need them. THC Solutions offers a vast variety of machinery, something for every possible need; including the few highlighted below.

STATISTICS

Last year in 2019, 4/20 saw $32.12 million in sales between three states: California, Colorado and Oregon. On average, between those three states, approximately 45.5% of customers bought flower, 30% bought concentrate, 14% bought edibles, and 10.5% bought either topicals or pre-rolled depending on state and area. As additional states legalize and decriminalize the possession and consumption of marijuana, the industry will continue to blossom. As cannabis becomes legalized globally, the market and demand will only continue to grow at a vast exponent rate.

HISTORY

Many known that 4/20 marks the day of celebration for cannabis users alike. However, few know the true story on how ‘four twenty’ came to be named. There are some believable and wild conspiracies, including ‘420’ was a California police code referring to ‘marijuana smoking in progress’. While many conspiracies are not accurate, there is one highly credible story, dating back to 1971, and Time reports on it.

In Marin Country, California, in 1971 a handful of students from a local high school would meet up at 4:20 pm on campus, after extracurricular activities had ended and would smoke marijuana. In order to code the meet up and what they were doing, they would say to each other “420” in reference to smoking marijuana and reference the meet up time.

The term 420 began to take off, in December of 1990, in Oakland, California. A group of Grateful Dead fans passed flyers out, encouraging people to smoke “420” on April 20th at 4:20 pm. Steve Bloom, a reporter for High Times magazine at the time, received a flier and had it was published in 1991. Not long after, marijuana became known around the world as “420”. In turn, the creation of the stoner holiday was born, and it has remained on the same day for over three decades. As the decades continue to pass by, the popularity and awareness grows exponentially.