Share This Article
This week I attended the annual 420 gathering in Hyde Park, London, which sees people coming together to smoke and celebrate cannabis.
Since 1967 and the Summer of Love, people have been gathering in Hyde Park to raise awareness for cannabis legalisation.
This year marks a year since 420 was effectively cancelled with a national lockdown, but 2019 was huge in Hyde Park – you can read our article about it here.
This year saw thousands of people gathered to support cannabis and show the ridiculousness of keeping possession of the plant illegal. This is compounded by the fact that we already have medical legalisation in the UK, so why bother targetting cannabis consumers?
Despite police warning that they would enforce the rule of 6 wih £200 fines, I found it bristling with people all looking to get in on the 420 action when I arrived at Hyde Park.
There was a much lower police presence than in previous years – with none of their ‘cannabis is illegal’ signs and less walking about, but there was still a presence. Fortunately, while I was there, things remained civil, and I spotted no drama.
In terms of the 420 gathering itself, it did not have any organisation, but for the most part people sat or stood in smaller groups (under 6) and kept spaced apart from one another, which made me realise just how much we have all become a little warier due to COVID – in previous years the crowd was pretty thick.
When 4:20pm arrived, people sparked up in unison, and an audible cheer could be heard as the sky above Hyde Park became cloudy.
After being locked down for a year, heading to Hyde Park to see thousands of cannabis consumers was a great way to spend an afternoon. We look forward to next year’s event – see you at 420 2022
