Chances are, if you’ve been to Coachella, you’ve probably found that it’s not hard to find weed there. But sneaking some edibles or a little bud into a concert now feels so old school in California’s post-prohibition landscape — and especially compared to what’s due at Coachella this year.
The music won’t be the only thing bringing festival goers to Indio Valley next week. A number of weed themed house parties in the desert surrounding Coachella are cropping up and turning cannabis into an attraction in and of itself.
At some of these parties, the guests will be able to get weed as easily as they’d be able to buy a drink. Galore’s Bash, for instance, will include a bud bar sponsored by the Humboldt Brothers, a cannabis brand from northern California, and Snoop Dogg’s media platform Merry Jane.
Meanwhile, six miles away, Talent Resources and Weedmaps, a directory for dispensaries, will host Oasis on a 2.3 acre estate for the entire weekend, where Coachella goers can escape to for some weed-infused beauty treatments and snacks, women’s wellness services, and even more live music. According to TMZ, this VIP spot will feature cannabis greenhouses, geodesic domes to test out strains, and on-site “budologists” to help guests pick out their weed.
Even though most of the weed-themed parties aren’t actually on the Coachella grounds, but stationed at desert properties nearby, the advent of these kinds of spaces represents a shifting focus from alcohol to cannabis. These parties are not only 420-friendly, but celebrate cannabis as something, like music, around which people can come together.
In California, it’s legal for anyone to carry up to an ounce of weed, with or without a medical recommendation. The state, however, won’t distribute licenses to sell adult use cannabis until next year, so, unless it’s marked as only for medical patients, all the weed at these Coachella cannabis parties will be given out, rather than sold. Tickets to get into the parties, however, are a different story.
