4/20 at the Denver Capitol in 2010--a decade ago--felt mystic and free, unlike any 4/20's before, because of the new industry explosion. Of course it was our first donning the iconic leaf-directory t-shirts, but there was something else, a force, a collective energy. Remember when we'd all go down to hear Miguel talk for hours? It's all a blur now. Breakfasts with Jason. Weird trips with Vince and crew, NCIA launch parties, the Polis party at the Durrah-James pad. Smaking with a familiar circle time and time again on the Capitol steps on the 20th of every month. Casselman's powwows and weird early grudge matches between out-of-state sharks. 

If you don't remember we don't fault you. It's all written down in the Cannapages story, and in our hearts. But like so many terrible things we've gone through, some of those rough'n tumble times are at risk of being forever lost to age and failing memory. This pandemic is making hindsight a little clearer.

We've come a decade since the first Kush Magazine convention in Colorado that April, one that swooped in and made a name for yesteryear personality Michael Lerner, and the first MMAPA big benefit, launching that group into sudden, unready spotlight. Few of those names are still around. 

Since then, and up until Covid came along, we've gotten used to ready-to-go cannabis. There's hardly ever an empty shelf these days, or crummy bud, and if so, there's always a million other quality locations around instead. At least, that's what it seems like. Hard to believe just years ago we had regular commercial droughts, even the occasional batch of edibles without activated THC. So much has changed that now we expect a service like that of a hardware store, with variations of the same quality tools no matter the location. 

In some ways we've forgotten the thrill of that once historic high: The virgin gasp from walking into a giant grow, with Willy Wonka glockenspiel ringing; the excitement of stopping into Charlie's Herbal Synergy lab/loft as he ran tests for the first High Times Cup, getting first pick, an armful of the best, to officially critique, from a sea of sparkling samples; the fun of hashing out the first "pimped" website listings from a basement office that doubled as vegging room; holding signs on a chilly day to film the NMMA commercial in City Park. 

That rush can so easily be lost to time. Yet, as we sit home, some of us again disconnected from our ease of access, or ease of funds from solid work, that old forgotten collective energy returns, spurned from the terrible but fantastic jonesin' that comes only when a well-watered plant starts to ache in the dryness of the acrid soil around it. 

We've made it through dry times, and we will make it through this.

So on this 4/20 holiday, may you be blessed to be holding, and if not, we send our vibes: may you be blessed by your fellow citizenry or some other divinity. Today, do not be afraid to ask your friends for smake, just make sure to keep a distance and pack your own.

We wish you a happy and peaceful 4/20. Chill hard, stay safe, see you on the other side. 

- The Cannapages Family
4/20's Eve, 2020

Pictured above - Original Photo, Colorado Capitol in Denver at 4:20pm on 4/20/2010