One of many community members who celebrated 420 on George street

By Tommy Osborne

420 celebration

Province’s first ever 420 street closure sees huge success in Prince George

Apr 20, 2024 | 6:55 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – For the first time in our province’s history, a street closure related to cannabis was held right here in Prince George. The BC Craft Farmers Cannabis Summit is in our community to discuss the future of cannabis and cannabis tourism, and to celebrate both 420 and the Cannabis Summit George street was closed for all adults who wanted to take part in 420 celebrations and check out many local vendors.

The community response was overwhelmingly positive, with hundreds, if not thousands, of people attending. The excitement of hosting the province’s first street closure and public celebration due to cannabis was exciting not only for those who attended, but the cannabis industry as a whole.

“That’s (the street closure) going to set precedent and it’s going to be a great foundation from which we can build not only for other venues and events in B.C., but across the country as well, which is super important for tourism and hospitality,” said Dr. Susan Dupej, who studies cannabis tourism in Canada.

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“B.C. has a very large opportunity, maybe more so, or maybe in a different way than the rest of Canada, because there is such a large presence of growers here. The history of cannabis in this region adds a layer to that story, and that is very appealing as a tourism attraction,” she added.

Events like the George Street closure brought in cannabis industry experts and growers from all across the country, including Dupej, who came from Ontario. She says hosting more events like this could be a huge opportunity for Prince George and Northern B.C., and Mayor Simon Yu says City Council has done a lot of work to grow the local cannabis industry. During a summit meeting Mayor Yu received a standing ovation from those in the industry for several policy changes that made life easier for the industry, as well as allowing the street closure celebration to take place.

“We have been supporting the industry ever since the legalization of cannabis. We have 15 stores here in Prince George, and recently we also lowered the business license fee for all the store owners from $1500 to $300, same as the liquor license,” Yu said.

Cannabis brings in $2 billion a year for the province, and both Mayor Yu and several local businesses see an opportunity for further growth.

“We have unbuilt square footage, so we’re looking forward to expanding, adding more jobs to the community, giving back,” said CEO and Master Grower of Kush Mountain Tyson Wall.

With the cannabis industry growing and Prince George making history, it’s possible that our local economy could see a significant economic boost from events such as the street closure, alongside a general expansion of both producing and selling cannabis.

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