Minnesotans prepare to celebrate first legal 4/20
MINNEAPOLIS — Saturday marks, for some, a holiday. 4/20, a day to celebrate all things cannabis, has a different feel this year – as Minnesotans can legally smoke the drug for the first time.
This has allowed a number of companies to enter the cannabis space – including Seed and Sesh in St. Paul – whose grand opening came Friday afternoon.
"Really, it's going to be a space that focuses on community, driving community and culture within the cannabis industry," said Jordan Wipf, who works with the company in digital media. "There's going to be classes, there's going to be samplings, and then on top of that, we're going to be having a live stream podcast."
MORE: Growing weed at home in Minnesota: Your questions answered
Seed and Sesh plans to open this weekend with classes on "The Science of Cannabis" and "Creating your own seed."
"What we like to do is appeal to the 95% of people who are between 'never use (cannabis)' and the people who are using it every day inside and out," Wipf said. "We don't want to be a shop that just goes into a community, opens our doors, sells these products and says have a good day."
Wipf says this year, with weed legal to smoke, there is a sense of freedom around the day.
RELATED: Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura launches cannabis edibles brand
"I think historically, a lot of people were nervous to share that they used cannabis," he said. "There might be pretty close friends or family members that might look down on things – this year is really made people feel a little more liberated to talk about cannabis use, and really destigmatize cannabis use."
The feeling is mutual at CannajoyMN in Minneapolis – where owner Erin Walloch has planned a morning yoga class for Saturday morning.
"I think it's going to be a really exciting weekend for a lot of people," Walloch, who opened the store in September, said. "We want to meet everybody where they're at on their seed and weed journey. Whether they're veterans to cannabis or someone who's curious, we want to make sure they're welcome here and can ask questions."
