Happy 420 Day !

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10 years ago

420 DAY CELEBRATED BY MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD - BUT WHAT IS 420 AND WHAT ARE ITS ORIGINS?

420, or 4-20, or 4/20, also called 420 Day or Cannabis Day is day of celebration for the Cannabis culture. Many people will gather together on this day to consume and celebrate Cannabis, aka Marijuana aka Weed. Around the world people will be discussing the benefits of marijuana, facts about marijuana and medical cannabis as well as continuing the fight for legalization. Shouts of Happy 420 echo around the globe… but what is 420 and what are its origins?

THE WALDOS AND 4:20, LOUIS

It’s hard to know the true origins of the term 420, because its use developed over time and in select pockets. Nearly everyone agrees that it originated in California. The most accepted version is about a group of five teenagers from San Rafael High School in Northern California in 1971, who called themselves the “Waldos". They claim to have been given a hand-drawn map leading to a huge crop of Marijuana plants that had been abandoned somewhere to the north of the headlands. The Waldos agreed to meet at the Louis Pasteur statue after football practice had ended, which fell around 4:20 pm. From there, they planned to embark on their journey to find the mythical field full of Cannabis.

The days passed and sadly the Waldos never found the field but still met at the statue regularly at 4:20 to smoke cannabis. They would say "4:20, Louie?" in passing to each other. Over time, people dropped the Louis or Louie, and it caught on with the close knit of stoners (of which Marin county had plenty in the 70's) and spread around. Apparently the term was picked up by other locals in neighboring towns and counties. The Waldos had some ties to the Bay Area's own Grateful Dead so when they were hanging out, the term got a further boost in popularity. Once the Deadheads (fans of the legendary band) caught wind of it, 420 spread like thick, skunky smoke.