Event Recap: Celebrating 60 Years of Grateful Dead
If you’re a regular reader of the Budist Blog, you know our event recaps usually stick to the facts—spotlighting the remarkable people, products, and experiences shaping cannabis culture. But as I scanned the dozens of write-ups from last weekend’s Dead & Company festival at Golden Gate Park, I knew this one needed to be told through my own lens—especially as someone approaching 40 years since seeing my first Grateful Dead show.
My journey with the Dead began in 1986, when my girlfriend’s parents—immersed in hippie culture and outspoken cannabis reform advocates—introduced me to their music. At the time, I was already active in the trade, living in SoCal, attending legalization rallies, and surreptitiously sourcing cannabis through ports and borders: Thai Stick from Long Beach, Mexican brick weed from Tijuana, and lime-green Humboldt spears via a friend’s father. In 1987, I caught my first Grateful Dead concert, and by the close of 1991 I’d seen them well over 100 times.
That same year marked a shift in cannabis history. The legendary ChemDog (aka ChemDawg) began circulating on the Grateful Dead lot, forever changing our appreciation for fuel-forward strains. The fabled ’91 Deer Creek show—cemented in cannabis lore—was the kickoff to an epic (and particularly memorable) 14-show East Coast summer tour. Up to that point, our head stash was filled mostly with equatorial strains and tour staples like Big Sur Holy Weed. By the mid-’90s, those profiles gave way to the gas-drenched genetics born from ChemDog—strains like Sour Diesel and OG Kush that would redefine the market.
Cannabis has always been more than just a part of Grateful Dead culture—it financed our tours, held our community together, and became the spiritual backbone of our daily lives. Our devotion to both the plant and Jerry Garcia made us easy targets for law enforcement, and those joyful years were shadowed by the constant threat of arrest. We lived underground, and we lost too many friends to archaic laws and the stigma of prohibition.
That’s what made this past weekend’s 60th anniversary celebration so special. It felt like the spirit of our community was alive and well—but this time, without the shadow. For the first time in history, we could openly buy and enjoy cannabis at a Dead show—safe, legal, and celebrated. The Grass Lands cannabis oasis wasn’t just a break from the bustling festival crowd; it was a living symbol of the hard work, sacrifice, and persistence that brought cannabis out of the shadows.
Enter Grass Lands
The Grass Lands cannabis marketplace—powered by Embarc—stood as a vibrant, welcoming hub within the festival. Since its debut at Outside Lands in 2018, Grass Lands has been a pioneering space for legal cannabis at major music events, but seeing it at GD60 carried a unique resonance. Here, the Dead’s long-standing connection to cannabis met the modern reality of regulated sales and consumption.
Inside Grass Lands, festival-goers could explore a wide range of California’s top cannabis brands and products. Humboldt Family Farms showcased small-batch sungrown flower from legacy farmers. Space Gem brought their award-winning, handmade, infused gummies—crafted without chemicals or corn syrup. Equity Trade Network championed innovative equity brands, ensuring their presence on this historic stage. The Head Shop by Gear Premium treated fans to commemorative Grateful Dead-branded accessories, perfect for enjoying the full bounty of Grass Lands!
A personal highlight? Seeing Eli and our friends at Solful bring the Garcia Hand Picked brand back to California. Smoking Klamath River ChemDog was the definition of full circle—born from a chance meeting between two Deadheads in 1991, preserved by breeders and cultivators through decades, and now lighting up GD60 thanks to Terrapin Farms. We built Budist to celebrate these legendary cultivars and producers, and our critics were excited to get their hands on the entire Garcia Hand Picked lineup in advance of the festival. Here’s some highlights: Green Lantern Pre-Roll by Greenshock Farms, 93 points; Orange Sunshine Pre-Roll by Alpenglow Farms, 92 points; and the Klamath River ChemDog Pre-Roll by Terrapin Farms, 91 points. Read the full reviews on the Budist app!
The activation wasn’t just about sales—it was about community, history, and celebrating the plant in the very place where so many Deadheads first shared it decades ago. For longtime fans like myself, it was living proof of how far we’ve come and a glimpse of what the future of cannabis at live music events can be.
Thank you to the entire Embarc team for making it happen.
Here’s to the music, the plant, and the people who keep both alive. This was a celebration we won’t soon forget!
