SF’s Outside Lands Confirms Return of Cannabis-Centric Grass Lands for 2023

Smoking weed in a national park is usually a no-go — unless you’re at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival.

Set in the city’s iconic Golden Gate Park, the event is today regarded as a local mainstay, having taken place each summer since 2008.

After quickly gaining a reputation as one of the nation’s top music festivals, organizers scored another victory in 2018 when they announced the addition of Grass Lands: a special area within the festival where adults could legally purchase and consume cannabis. Set in motion in 2016 following the success of California’s Prop. 64, Outside Lands would become the first major American music festival to offer a curated cannabis experience with the debut of Grass Lands two years later.

By 2019, permits for on-site sale and consumption of cannabis within the Grass Lands area were secured, setting the stage for the attraction to evolve into its current form: something akin to an outdoor cannabis bazaar populated with top-quality local products.

Over the years, the shape and focus of this weed-centric festival hub has shifted as well, expanding from its educational-only roots to become a veritable cornucopia of choice that runs the category gamut from edibles to flowers to wax.

Beyond booths that offer a chance to connect with regional cultivators, extractors, budtenders, and other experts, Grass Lands also provides glassware and dab rigs for use across multiple consumption areas housed within the site. Other highlights include food trucks — did someone say grilled cheese? — and plenty of comfortable seating for kicking back.

In 2022, Grass Lands also offered the opportunity to take part in the painting of a communal mural, hosted a snack-laden bodega sponsored by Stiiizy, and highlighted a booth devoted to Headcount’s Cannabis Voter Project.

Earlier this month, the return of Grass Lands was confirmed in an announcement that also unveiled the lineup for the festival’s 15th installment this summer. Taking place from August 11-13, 2023, top talent confirmed to perform this year includes names like Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Lana Del Rey, the 1975, Odesza, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, and Janelle Monáe.

Once again, Outside Lands will also host Grass Lands, where festivalgoers ages 21+ can retreat for a break from the chaos and sesh to their hearts’ content.

While details of what’s expected for 2023 remain scarce, it stands to reason that this signature spot will once again draw crowds who can’t resist the chance to legally get lit at Golden Gate Park.

For more information on Outside Lands, visit the festival’s official website, or click here to see the festival’s full lineup for 2023.