420

Overview

420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a code-term used to call for consumption of cannabis, particularly around the time 4:20 p.m. or on the day of April 20th, and by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis culture.

Background

According to Steven Hager, the editor of High Times, and other various sources of cannabis literature, the term “420” was coined in 1971 by a group of students at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, who called themselves the “Waldos” and congregated by the campus statue of Louis Pasteur to smoke weed at 4:20 p.m. The group initially referred to the meeting by the code phrase “4:20 Louis” on the school grounds, before they shortened it to simply “4:20.” From there, the code word began spreading around the city of San Rafael, a strong foothold for the fans of the psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead, and gradually, it became adopted by marijuana smokers across the rest of the country.

Etymology

Due to the largely anecdotal nature of the backstory, the coinage of the term has long been misattributed to a number of urban legends and unfounded connections that became widespread as cannabis culture thrived across North America and Europe. Some of the most well-known myths that have been since debunked include:

Notable Developments

As cannabis culture continued to gain traction across North America following a period of renaissance during the 1970s, the term “420” also became widely adopted by cannabis smokers in the 1980s, though mostly “passed along from stoner to stoner as a completely underground grassroots phenomenon,” according to The High Times.

The Grateful Dead Flyer

In December 1990, fans of Grateful Dead circulated a mysterious flyer promoting a smoking event scheduled to take place on April 20th, 1991 in Marin County, California. The flyer also came complete with an alleged backstory for the term “420.”

“We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais,”

“420 started somewhere in San Rafael, California in the late ‘70s. It started as the police code for Marijuana Smoking in Progress. After local heads heard of the police call, they started using the expression 420 when referring to herb – Let’s Go 420, dude!"

Although the validity of the backstory has been since disputed by members of The Waldos, the flyer and its variations (shown below) played a vital role in popularizing April 20th as the unofficial holiday of cannabis culture among the fans of Grateful Dead and beyond, as well as the term “420” after The High Times published the Deadheads’ flyer in 1991 and continued to reference the number in its subsequent issues. In 1998, The High Times recognized The Waldos as the “inventors” of 420.

Observances

On April 20th, 1995, the Cannabis Action Network staged the first annual 4/20 Ball at Maritime Hall in San Francisco, California, one of the earliest known instances of organized and recurring events in observance of 420, from 4:20 p.m. to 4:20 a.m. Since then, dozens of similar congregations to celebrate cannabis culture on April 20th have emerged under the coordinated efforts of various cannabis advocacy groups across North America, most notably at the Hippie Hill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, University of Colorado’s Boulder campus and University of California’s Santa Cruz campus in the United States, as well as Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and Major’s Hill Park, Montreal’s Mount Royal monument and Edmonton’s Alberta Legislature Building in Canada, among many other places in Europe.

2000

On April 20th, 2000, San Francisco Gate published an article titled “Stoner Chic Traces Origin To San Rafael,” which highlights various myths surrounding the origin of “420” and credits The Waldos of San Rafael High School for coining the term, citing The High Times editor Steven Hager’s research on the topic.

2005

On April 20th, 2005, Something Awful forums member Kirtaner registered the domain name 420chan.org, which eventually became the home of 420chan, an English-language imageboard mainly focused on the discussion of cannabis culture and professional wrestling, following a massive exodus of raiders to spin-off imageboards in late-August 2006.

2014

Easter 4/20 was the simultaneous observation of Easter, the Christian holiday on which Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and 4/20 on April 20th, 2014.

Impact

• The term 420 can be used to directly refer to marijuana. The term “420 friendly” is also commonly used among those who smoke and even those who do not to refer to people or places that are acceptable and open to the use of marijuana.

• “420 Blaze it” is a catchphrase used in celebration of smoking marijuana. The phrase is often used ironically to mock cannabis enthusiasts who identify themselves with the stoner subculture.

• In 2001, the forReal.org web site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Substance Abuse Prevention put out a public service document titled, “It’s 4:20 — Do You Know Where Your Teen Is?”

• On January 1st, 2004, the Governor of California signed California Senate Bill 420 into law, which regulates marijuana used for medical purposes. This bill comes years after the term ‘420’ was associated with marijuana and indeed its number likely was chosen because of the existing pop culture connection.

• The term “420” has been routinely referenced in various popular movies and television shows. In Fast Times at Ridgemont High the final score of the football game is displayed as 42-0. Most of the clocks used as props in Pulp Fiction are set to 4:20.

• With the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana, many hemp-based and cannabis culture products have taken on the term as part of their brand, including Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing Co. 420 Pale Ale, 420 Tours (low-cost travel packages to the Netherlands and Jamaica), Highway 420 Radio, as well as video games, record labels and musical acts.

Search Interest

External References