High Expectations: Marketers Hope for Buzz on 4/20

[ed the head]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 78292.html

High Expectations: Marketers Hope for Buzz on 4/20

This year, with the date falling on a Friday, marketers are trying to get in on the buzz. Marijuana advocates say the commercialization just proves that pot is gaining mainstream acceptance; there were some 17.4 million users in 2010, up from 14.4 million in 2007, according to government data. But many are foggy on the date's origins.

A haze of marijuana smoke loomed over a crowd of thousands during a 'smoke out' at the University of Colorado, Boulder on April 20, 2010.
.Film studios hope to capitalize on the day with pot-themed film releases, while television networks and small businesses are running promotions. In Austin, Texas, a local nonprofit will unveil an 8-foot bronze statue of country musician and avowed cannabis fan Willie Nelson around 4:20 p.m. Friday

[ed the head]

http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/ ... lie-nelson

Country music legend Willie Nelson helped unveil a statue honoring him in downtown Austin by singing his new song "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" on Friday, a date long reserved to celebrate marijuana use.

The faint smell of marijuana smoke wafted through a crowd of about 2,000 people as Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell accepted on the privately funded statue as a gift from a private arts group. Organizers said they didn't intentionally choose April 20 for the event, but once they found out, they scheduled the unveiling at 4:20 p.m. as a tongue-in-cheek reference to Nelson's openness about his marijuana use and advocacy for its legalization.