Alain Riquelmy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — The hash story plays out at the California State Fair, and if you don’t know it’s there, you might miss it.
Behind a monolithic building, in front of museum-like exhibits that take the visitor on an adventure into the chronology of the marijuana plant, is the first hashish sale and eating area at a state fair.
Not the California State Fair, organizers said. Any state fair.
“We’re making history,” said Embarc co-founder Dustin Moore. “That happened. ”
Embarc has partnered with Fair Play Ventures to create the new edition of the show’s hash exhibit. Since 2022, a hashish festival has been held at the exhibition. This year, after having the opportunity to communicate with manufacturers and sellers, participants can purchase hash and consume it. them in an admission area.
Some of this domain is already prepared. On Wednesday, a space was prepared for vendors, in anticipation of Friday’s opening. The couches were under a blanket, offering respite from the scorching California sun.
Smoking is prohibited in this area. The larger intake site, where smoking is permitted, remained structured midweek. Participants will follow a predetermined path to this approximately 20,000-square-foot venue, where they will be greeted by more tables and chairs, as well as panelists and music.
Both sites, Moore said, are for normal climbers. People can stop at the fair without even knowing that there is cannabis.
Moore admitted that this contradicted one of the goals of the exhibition: to destigmatize hashish and normalize it.
But, like the legalization of hashish in California, these are small steps.
James Leitz of Fair Play Ventures and executive producer of the hashish festival and expo, gently recalls the state of hashish in California before 2016, when Proposition 64, the ballot initiative that legalized marijuana in the Golden State, was adopted.
Ten years ago, Leitz would have believed that it was possible to sell and receive products at the state fair.
“It’s huge,” Leitz said. It is the first in the country. It’s just that hashish is legal. “
A visitor to the hashish exhibition can see how people’s attitudes towards hashish have evolved over time.
The exhibition is located in a giant construction just a few steps from the main entrance. Upon entering, one of the first things the visitor will see will be what appear to be hash plants.
Moore confides to other people that this is not the case, but that they are made from hemp.
“The hemp plant is hashish because of regulations,” he said.
Regulation plays a role in the history of cannabis, as well as today.
A chronology of hashish over the decades is displayed on the walls. Attendees will see a poster for “Reefer Madness,” an anti-marijuana film from the 1930s that many now consider a cult classic. Cannabis used to challenge immigrants and jazz culture. The war on drugs is not far behind.
“It’s about education,” Leitz said. “This with education. ”
The story continues to evolve over the years. The voices of those who see hashish as medicine began to be heard. The 1990s brought legal medical marijuana to California.
And then, around the corner, the visitor can see the gold and silver medal winners in sun, mixed light, cartridge, edible and beverage crops.
Nearby, a stall where other people can buy terpene-infused slushies, a reproduction of the popular wine slushies discovered at the fair. Terpenes are to blame for the distinctive smell of many plants, including cannabis.
Tremors, Moore said, intoxicating.
Cannabis has struggled since it was legalized on January 1, 2018. Sales in 2021 amounted to $5. 35 billion, followed by $4. 9 billion in sales in 2022 and $4. 89 billion in 2023.
State legislative analysts estimated in May that the state would earn $649 million in tax revenue from hashish in the 2023-24 fiscal year. While that’s $16 million less than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s forecast in May, the analyst company forecasts $727 million in fiscal gains in fiscal year 2024-25.
“Everyone expected hashish to be a big help,” said David Hafner, media director for the state Department of Cannabis Control.
While hashish makes a lot of money for the state, Hafner noted that 40% of California has licensed hash retailers. This leaves significant portions of the state in a hashish desert. Exposure to cannabis plays a role in the socialization and normalization of hashish.
“Having him in the state is the next step,” he added.
Hafner’s office will have a compliance team on-site to ensure compliance with regulations, and there are many. The showroom is reserved for people over 21 years of age. There is no place to smoke on Fridays and Saturdays. However, smoking is allowed on all other days, except on July 19, when a beer festival is held on the occasion of the fair.
The California State Fair at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd. , Sacramento, will be held July 12-28.
Organizers remain cautiously positive about the mood of the show. The Sacramento area has experienced a heat wave in recent days, with mercury levels above 100.
Exhibitors expect temperatures to be too high.