Non-Cannabis Brands' Communications to 4/20 Day in 2020

April is a month that starts with a Fool's day, but that's not the only special day in that month, especially if you ask cannabis consumers. Wondering why? The answer is 4/20 – the day when thousands of people around the US gather to celebrate cannabis.

Many are wondering why this date. A former editor of High Times, which was focused on marijuana news, told the New York Times this tradition was started by a group of teenagers more than four decades ago. The group of students smoked pot every day at the same time, 4:20 pm to be exact. After a while, this became a ritual, and over time, it spread, and the numbers became a code for smoking. Later on, these numbers turned into a date, and the holiday was created. But, this remains just one of the theories.

Over the years, the popularity of the holiday has grown, and so is the support for marijuana legalization. Cannabis is fully legal in some states; in some, the legal status is mixed; and in some, cannabis is fully illegal, as the map of marijuana legality by state shows. Every cannabis consumer is eager to see the full legalization of marijuana.

In the states in which marijuana is legalized, rallies, where the crowd gathers to celebrate, became a tradition, especially in California and Colorado. And while the holiday became a thing among smokers, it also became a thing among the non-cannabis brands. It became so big that 4/20 has been called a variety of things, some of them being the cannabis industry's black Friday.

While the year of 2020 brought anything but fun with the pandemic that hit every corner of the world just close to the pot holiday, the holiday was spot on. Logically, gatherings and rallies were out of the question due to lockdowns across the country, but that didn't stop brands to openly celebrate 4/20. Major marketers were not only openly celebrating the official cannabis day, but some were also giving discounts and special offers to their customers.

Everyone can agree that brands do love holidays, and most of them didn't let the pandemic and the fact all the scheduled events and gatherings have been canceled stop them. There were cookies, burgers, pizzas, tacos, and other delicious treats available for $4.20. Some shared 420 classic movies or suggestions on what to watch, including Netflix and HBO; there were lists of songs for relaxation shared by music streaming services and radios, and even some interesting recipes with marijuana. Not need to mention, there were discounts of $4.20 on certain products and services, and one of the companies that offered it was Uber Colorado. There was a bit of everything.

But, among many companies that celebrated marijuana holiday in 2020, one stood out, and that is Ben & Jerry's, the famous ice cream company. It seems that Ben & Jerry decided to go even further as they pointed out that it is time for marijuana to be legalized, but not just that. They shared a post on their Twitter account saying that it is pretty hard being excited over the holiday when many people of color are arrested across the country for marijuana.

"Fans of cannabis can partake openly in more parts of the country than ever before. And even if you're not in a state that has legalized, there's still a pretty good chance that you can do your thing without having to worry about being arrested... If you're a white person," wrote Ben & Jerry in a blog post.

The company went all in about legalization, but they pointed out that people need to make sure the legalization benefits all.

Rarely can you see a company or a brand that is outside the cannabis industry to be so loud and taking a stand on marijuana legalization, but that is exactly what some companies did back in 2020. But, the fact is, support for the legalization keeps increasing and getting stronger and seeing companies that are out of the industry as supporters became a new normal. This shows that more and more companies are interested not in the promotion of their products but in activism as well.

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Social networks were filled with posts about the celebration of 4/20, especially Twitter where the brands shared their celebration messages along with special offers. Many were celebrating the national weed day, and it seems that some were in a mood for celebration more than ever, perhaps because the lockdown and the pandemic were right on.

In a year when the whole world changed, and when things turned around overnight, the will to be merry and celebrate the things you love didn't vanish. On the contrary, non-cannabis brands proven they are ready to support the consumers and celebrate cannabis day along with them, and that was a great thing to see.