Brighton is no stranger to cannabis activism so it’s no surprise the city is starting a new fourtwenty gathering. If you use cannabis, 420 should need no introduction. But for those of you who are new to the movement, Culture and community might need a little more info.
4:20pm is the time the culture has assigned to sparking up or puffing on a vape. April 20th (4/20 in American date system) is basically like cannabis Christmas and New year rolled into one. It’s a time to get together with your cannabis, consuming friends and celebrate all things ganja and the start of spring really gives it a good vibe.
People throw parties and hold public protests or gatherings to help draw attention to the need for a change in law. Is a huge display of Civil disobedience in countries that have still not legislated for sensible adult cannabis sales.
The UK’s largest event is held in London Hyde Park and over the last 13 years it has grown from 1,000 people to 30,000 people attending. We have spent a long time and a lot of effort at the start of every year for over a decade to ensure that 420 London happens and got better and better each year. In some years the police have spent in excess of £23,000 on a single day to try and stop people from enjoying cannabis in the park and after we revealed this in a freedom of information request and it was reported in the newspaper, the metropolitan Police started to back off and allow us to have our one day of celebration.
For some being amongst 30,000 people enjoying the herb puffing tough and filling The London air with smoke plumes that could probably be seen from space, It’s an awesome experience. But for others who don’t do so well in big crowds and don’t like being stop and searched to go into a park, there are a few other events around the country that you might be closer to if you don’t live in London.
Check out our blog On the upcoming 420 events in 2025, so make sure you can get to the one closest to you.
Brighton’s New 420 Gathering
Where? East Park, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5UA
When? Sunday 20th of April, 2-6pm
This year sees the start of a new 420 event in Brighton in East Brighton Park. It creates a new opportunity for people from the south coast to come together and start something fresh. Brighton was home to green pride the free cannabis protestival that spanned over 10 years but unfortunately due to shady local politics with a now disgraced Tory counsellor green pride has been made almost impossible to continue. This is such a sad turn of events for the activists who put it on because they know how much of an impact it had on people’s lives that came to the event. You can even see newspaper articles completely unrelated to the event but about medical cannabis where patients mention they came to green pride and found that cannabis was a valuable and vital medicine that could change their lives. With that in mind, it seems silly not to use 420 as an opportunity to bring people together from the south coast again.
Four Twenty events in public are free gatherings and have no official organisation; it is a public service and a right of everyone to be able to gather and commune in the name of something they all agree on.
For those of you who missed out on the very first years of green pride, this is a new opportunity for you to get in from the beginning and be part of history because there’s no doubt in our minds here at the UK CSC that Brighton 420 is going to become a permanent flag on the 420 map of Britain.
If you’re someone who wants to get involved with a Cannabis Social Club or meet other like-minded people, or even find out about how to start one in your own area, you can come to this event and meet people who have done it already and are willing to share their experience and advice to help you head in the right direction. If you’re super serious, you can always become a supporter member of the UKCSC. You’ll get a gold pin and a badge along with some educational activist information that you can read yourself and pass out to others. By becoming a member you’ll have direct access to us here at the head office where we can answer all your questions, and Give you templates for letters, membership forms and guides to get you going.
Cannabis liberation is not inevitable. It is a result of the actions of many people coming together and contributing towards the tasks that need to be taken on to make that difference a living reality. 15 years ago in the UK it was not possible to be an obvious cannabis consumer and not feel the legal and social repercussions. There were no 420 events. There were no Cannabis Social Clubs. But look at the UK now, lots of events, growing number of clubs and communities and living it like it’s legal is a marketed lifestyle by multiple homegrown brands like Tree Masons and Herbman Hustlin.
