4/20 warning issued to legal sellers of pot

Taking part in unlicensed events could bring penalties, state tells businesses.

SACRAMENTO — The state issued a warning that businesses holding licenses to sell marijuana could face penalties if they participate in unlicensed temporary events away from their stores, including this Friday, the date that has become an annual celebration for counterculture groups.

The warning was issued Tuesday ahead of 4/20 by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Since Jan. 1, the bureau has issued more than 700 state licenses to sell marijuana for medical or recreational use.

The bureau has issued 47 temporary event licenses to groups that are limited to holding the marijuana celebrations on county fairgrounds that have authorized such events with city approval.

“Any bureau licensee participating in an unlicensed cannabis event may be subject to disciplinary action,” the warning said, adding that “lawful participation by bureau licensees in any temporary cannabis event that allows sales and/or consumption is dependent upon issuance of the appropriate licenses from the bureau.”

Although many Californians have been issued medical approval to sell or use marijuana, the law does not allow them to participate in unlicensed events, also referred to as “Proposition 215 events” after the ballot measure that legalized medical pot two decades ago in the state.

“Participation in such events may lead to civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity,” the warning said.

Meanwhile, a survey of some 1,000 marijuana users that was released Tuesday by the firm LendEDU found that the average 4/20 participant plans to spend $71 on marijuana to celebrate the unofficial holiday, and about 35% of respondents are planning to take off work Friday.