For the First Time in 60 Years, Cannabis is (Legally) Sold at a Grateful Dead Show

When Dead & Company took the stage at Golden Gate Park this weekend for their 60th anniversary celebration, fans experienced (opens in new tab) something that’s been six decades in the making: legally purchasing and consuming cannabis at a Dead show. 

This feels the completion of a cultural cycle that began in the 1960s when both the Dead and California’s cannabis farmers were pushing boundaries together. 

From Underground to Mainstream 

For sixty years, cannabis has been part of the Dead experience, passed quietly through crowds and enjoyed in the shadows.  

“Sixty years ago, some of the world’s best cannabis farmers moved into the hills and hid their cultivation in fear of persecution,” said Lauren Carpenter, embarc’s CEO and Co-Founder. “Now, everyone is coming back down to Golden Gate Park to openly celebrate cannabis, community, and the Dead in the very place where so much of this cultural movement began.” 

The three-day festival (August 1-3) featured California’s highest-quality cannabis, consumer education, a community drum circle led by drumSTRONG, and exhibitions by Haight Street Art Center, Moon Alice, and Jerome Baker Designs…bringing “Shakedown Street” vibes to life. It’s everything fans have always loved about Dead shows, now with the safety and quality of legal, regulated cannabis. 

Cannabis Culture Comes Home 

This builds on Another Planet Entertainment’s groundbreaking work as cannabis event pioneers. The company traces its roots back to Bill Graham Presents, when Graham was the original Dead promoter. They made history by hosting the world’s first major mainstream festival to integrate legal cannabis at Outside Lands. 

Golden Gate Park serves as the inaugural weekend of an expanded cannabis experience that continues at Outside Lands (August 8-10), creating an unprecedented two-weekend celebration of music and cannabis culture in San Francisco. 

Ready to experience California’s finest cannabis for yourself? Visit your local embarc dispensary today. We can’t wait to serve you and help you discover why California cannabis continues to set the gold standard. 

Find your nearest embarc location at goembarc.com/locations  (opens in new tab)