There was a long line stretching around the block on Monday morning outside the Mercy Wellness Dispensary in Santa Rosa, where cannabis shoppers were waiting in the rain to take advantage of 420 deals.
4/20 celebrations started with a group of high school kids in San Rafael in 1971, who used the codeword 420, meaning “let’s meet at 4:20 pm after school to get high.” The phrase led to the unofficial marijuana holiday, marked every year on April 20. These days, pot fans in some locations can attend 420 celebrations, or like in Santa Rosa, benefit from the 420 sales that many dispensaries hold.
Linda Franklin arrived early for 420 deals to help her deal “body pains and for my head” on the unofficial holiday for cannabis users at Mercy Wellness Dispensary Monday, April 20, 2026 in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
Shoppers for 420 deals waited a long line in the rain to enter the Mercy Wellness Dispensary on the unofficial holiday for cannabis users Monday, April 20, 2026 in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
A line of people seeking 420 deals stretched around the block from the Mercy Wellness Dispensary on the unofficial holiday for cannabis users Monday, April 20, 2026 in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)
A line of people seeking 420 deals stretched around the block from the Mercy Wellness Dispensary on the unofficial holiday for cannabis users Monday, April 20, 2026 in Santa Rosa. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)