The Mercury News Weekend

It’s official: Festival-goers can use or buy marijuana at event

- By Jim Harrington jharringto­n@ bayareanew­sgroup.com

Music, marijuana and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. For decades, those three things have been inseparabl­e in the minds of many fans.

And now that triumvirat­e is taking the longstandi­ng relationsh­ip to the next level.

For the first time, festival- goers will be able to buy and use cannabis products — legally — at this year’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, organizers announced Wednesday night. The pot will have to be purchased and consumed in the festival’s designated Grass Lands area at the threeday event, which opens Friday at Golden Gate Park. Some 200,000 visitors are expected at the festival, which features headliners Twenty One Pilots, Childish Gambino and Paul Simon.

“Launched in 2018, Grass Lands has expanded its offering this year to include more than 24 leading cannabis partners,” the news release says. “In addition to promoting education about cannabis, for the first time Grass Lands is growing the experience to feature cannabis products for sale and consumptio­n solely within the designated areas of Grass Lands, making Outside Lands the first major U. S. festival to offer sale and consumptio­n to patrons of age.”

Reports said festivalgo­ers will be able to purchase up to 7 grams of dry, non- concentrat­ed pot and up to 2 grams of such concentrat­ed forms as edible products and those used in vaping. Recreation­al use of marijuana became legal in California in January.

It’s the latest chapter for a festival that is always looking for ways to add to its offerings, which have long included areas dedicated to wine, beer and food.

“Grass Lands ref lects the Outside Lands ethos of always being at the forefront of creating a dynamic festival experience for attendees,” according to the news release.

On- site sale and consumptio­n of marijuana was approved by California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control as well as the city of San Francisco itself, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Permit t ing Gras s Lands as the inaugural event is the first step in creating a safe cannabis event space for those aged 21 years and older,” Marisa Rodriguez, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis, told the Los Angeles Times. “Attendees will be able to purchase and consume lab- tested products away from the rest of the venue’s attendees.”

Festival attendees must show proof that they are at least 21-years old in order to enter Grass Lands.

 ?? STAFF FILE ?? The “Grass Lands” area at the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park will allow the sale and consumptio­n of marijuana this year for the first time, officials said Wednesday.
STAFF FILE The “Grass Lands” area at the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park will allow the sale and consumptio­n of marijuana this year for the first time, officials said Wednesday.

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