It’s that time of year again. No, not Christmas.
It’s 420, the unofficial stoner holiday! Everyday at 4:20, people partake in their preferred method with Cannabis in unspeakable unity. The day 4/20 has become an industry norm for parties, concerts, festivals and cannabis centric events to honor the three numbers that are synonymous with getting stoned.
With only one more sleep left until 4/20 is upon us, the CannaCommunity tends to collective wonder, why 420?
We all hear the numbers, see the time, and bolt to spend time with Mary Jane.
But why exactly? Who is the first person use the term and why?
No matter who you ask, the story can’t be confirmed.
It’s been long debated to be the birth or death date of many Cannabis advocating celebrities: Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley to name a few. The day does happen to be the birthdate of two exceptionally terrible people that we will not name but, the origins don’t lie with them either.
It’s also been long debated that 420 is the number of chemical compounds in the Cannabis plant. Unfortunately, this is wrong again.
The most common rumor being that it started from police radio codes in San Rafael, California. Some say the police would radio the numbers signaling Marijuana Consumption in progress. After the calls were heard, locals claim that the numbers were then used to signal a time to smoke but, the numbers do not correlate to any police radio calls.
San Rafael does however have a connection to the truth.
The most consistent story is that of The Waldos of San Rafael. It seems that a small group of teenagers, with a little help from The Grateful Dead, actually helped create the term and bring it to the popularity that it has today.
Back in 1971 in Marin County, CA, a group of five students at San Rafael High School in started using the term 420 to communicate about smoking. The group, calling themselves The Waldos, supposedly had a map to an area where a Coast Guard service member grew marijuana plants. The service member could no longer tend to his land, therefore, the group would go looking for the unattended bud.
The Waldos would meet at 4:20 after school in front of the Louis Pasteur statue before going out looking.
“We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out 4:20-Louis and we eventually dropped the Louis,” The Waldos told the Huffington Post.
The Waldos starting using the term to reference when they are going out but it turned into a phrase for smoking in general. Whether it be to meet up, if you were already baked, or if they had any bud, it was a way letting one another know without actually having to say anything about marijuana.
Conveniently enough, as the 60s ended The Gratetful Dead moved to Marin County at the same time. One of the Waldos claims their parents’ handled real estate for the band when they came to Marin County looking for rehearsal space. The Waldos knew of their space and would frequently hang out in the area, according to Huffington Post.
Somehow, the term must have been spread or overheard amongst the group and their fans as it grew in popularity amongst The Grateful Deads’ fans.
In December of 1990, fans of the show (Deadheads) passed out fan flyers encouraging others to smoke at the token time.
Original Grateful Dead Fan Flyer
The termed stayed mostly between Deadheads over the years until High Times verified the Waldo’s story in 1997 and started to use the term much more frequently.
“I started incorporating it into everything we were doing,” High Times editor Steve Hager told the Huffington Post. “I started doing all these big events – the World Hemp Expo Extravaganza and the Cannabis Cup – and we built everything around 420. The publicity that High Times gave it is what made it an international thing. Until then, it was relatively confined to the Grateful Dead subculture. But we blew it out into an international phenomenon.”
So, there we have it. Not as concrete as some would like but there are no mentions of 420 that actually predate 1971, making The Waldos and Deadheads the originators of the term 420.
Regardless of what you believe, 4/20 is upon us. No matter where you are celebrating, whether it be home or out at an event, let us know where you think the holiday and terms origins came from. Was the Waldos? Or something else? Or does it matter?
If you are in the Las Vegas valley at the time, you can join The Social Weed at our own 4/20 festivities. Come celebrate and discuss those theories at The Cheba Hut on Sahara @12PM. Enjoy the live music, eats some amazing food, play some games and get some giveaways!
Source: Joycelin A. – Contributing Writer
