Getty Image
On January 1st, the sale of recreational marijuana became legal in the state of California, which meant everyone who didn’t want to spend an hour of their time and a nominal fee to get diagnosed with “chronic pain” (or makes friends with someone who did) could finally get high in peace. The only downside is the people who get anxious and paranoid when they smoke will spend three hours waiting for Jeff Sessions and his army of Keebler Elves to burst through their door, but you can never make everyone happy.
However, the new law does come with some caveats. Buyers are allowed to indulge and grow their own plants on private property, but towns and counties are given the authority to decide whether they want to allow public use and the licensing of dispensaries. One of the towns that has decided to take the more conservative route is Indio, whose only claim to fame is being the home of the annual Coachella festival (which announced this year’s lineup last week).
If you were looking to get your smoke on in peace this year, you might run into a bit of a roadblock.
While it might be located on private property, the festival has announced it will continue its policy of banning weed from the Empire Polo Club— a strategy that has been soooooo effective in the past. The statement on its website’s FAQ page reads:
“Sorry bro. Marijuana and marijuana products aren’t allowed inside the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Even in 2018 and beyond. If that changes, we’ll update this answer.”
The Weeknd will be headlining on 4/20 during the festival’s second weekend, so good fucking luck with that.