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Revision as of 22:47, 10 October 2014

4/20
Statue of Louis Pasteur, at San Rafael High School, which is said to be the site of the original 4:20 gatherings.
Observed byCannabis counterculture, legal reformers, entheogenic spiritualists
TypeSecular
ObservancesCannabis consumption
DateApril 20
Next time20 April 2025 (2025-04-20)
Frequencyannual

420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a code-term that refers to the consumption of cannabis and by extension, as a way to identify oneself with cannabis subculture or simply cannabis itself. Observances based on the number 420 include smoking cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m. (with some sources also indicating 4:20 a.m.[1][2]) on any given day, as well as smoking and celebrating cannabis on the date April 20 (4/20 in U.S. form).[3]

Origins

A group of teenagers in San Rafael, California,[4][5] calling themselves the Waldos,[6] because, "their chosen hang-out spot was a wall outside the school",[7] used the term in connection with a fall 1971 plan to search for an abandoned cannabis crop that they had learned about.[6][8] The Waldos designated the Louis Pasteur statue on the grounds of San Rafael High School as their meeting place, and 4:20 p.m. as their meeting time.[7] The Waldos referred to this plan with the phrase "4:20 Louis". Multiple failed attempts to find the crop eventually shortened their phrase to simply "4:20", which ultimately evolved into a codeword that the teens used to mean marijuana-smoking in general.[8] Mike Edison says that Steve Hager of High Times was responsible for taking the story about the Waldos to "mind-boggling, cult like extremes" and "suppressing" all other stories about the origin of the term.[9]

Hager wrote "Stoner Smart or Stoner Stupid?" in which he called for 4:20 p.m. to be the socially accepted hour of the day to consume cannabis.[10] He attributes the early spread of the phrase to Grateful Dead followers, who were also linked to the city of San Rafael.[10]

April 20 observances

420 event in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, April 20, 2013
Students and others gather for a "420 Day" event in Porter Meadow at the University of California, Santa Cruz, campus on April 20, 2007.

April 20 has become a counterculture holiday in North America, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.[2][3] Some events have a political nature to them, advocating for the legalization of cannabis. North American observances have been held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park near the Haight-Ashbury district,[11] the University of Colorado's Boulder campus,[5][12][13] Ottawa, Ontario, at Parliament Hill and Major's Hill Park,[14][15] Montréal, Québec at Mount Royal monument,[16][17] Edmonton, Alberta at the Alberta Legislature Building,[18] as well as Vancouver, British Columbia at the Vancouver Art Gallery.[19] The growing size of the unofficial event at UC Santa Cruz caused the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs to send an e-mail to parents in 2009 stating: "The growth in scale of this activity has become a concern for both the university and surrounding community."[20]

Events have also occurred in Auckland, New Zealand at the Daktory[21][unreliable source?] and Dunedin, New Zealand, at University of Otago.[22][23][24][25][26][27]

Impact

In Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation replaced the frequently stolen Mile Marker 420 sign on I-70 east of Denver with one reading 419.99 in an attempt to stop the thievery.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ Chris Goldstein (April 17, 2013). "How 420 became a marijuana holiday". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  2. ^ a b http://hightimes.com/read/power-420
  3. ^ a b King, Matt (April 24, 2007). "Thousands at UCSC burn one to mark cannabis holiday". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 26, 2007.
  4. ^ "Stoner Chic Traces Origin To San Rafael – Snickering high schoolers brought `420' into lexicon". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  5. ^ a b McKinley, Jesse (April 19, 2009). "Marijuana Advocates Point to Signs of Change". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2011. Mr. Hager said the significance of April 20 dates to a ritual begun in the early 1970s in which a group of Northern California teenagers smoked cannabis every day at 4:20 p.m. Word of the ritual spread and expanded to a yearly event in various places. Soon, cannabis aficionados were using "420" as a code for smoking and using it as a sign-off on flyers for concerts where the drug would be plentiful. In recent years, the April 20 events have become so widespread that several colleges have discouraged students from participating. At the University of Colorado, Boulder, where thousands of students regularly use the day to light up in the quad, administrators sent an e-mail message this month pleading with students not to "participate in unlawful activity that debases the reputation of your university and degree." {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b High Times (March 21, 2012). The Official High Times Cannabis Cookbook: More Than 50 Irresistible Recipes That Will Get You High. Chronicle Books. pp. 97–. ISBN 978-1-4521-0133-0. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Grim, Ryan (April 20, 2009). "What 420 Means: The True Story Behind Stoners' Favorite Number". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Grim, Ryan (April 20, 2010). "420 Meaning: The True Story Of How April 20 Became 'Weed Day'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  9. ^ Edison, Mike (May 12, 2009). I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World. Faber & Faber. pp. 207–. ISBN 9780865479036. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Stoner Smart, or Stoner Stupid?". High Times. 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  11. ^ "A Huge Turn Out for 420 Day on Hippie Hill in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park " San Francisco Citizen". Sfcitizen.com. April 20, 2010. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ CU's 4/20 pot smoke-out draws crowd of 10,000 : CU News.
  13. ^ "Medical marijuana expected to give momentum to CU-Boulder 4/20 event – Boulder Daily Camera". Dailycamera.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Pot activists to light up on Hill". Cnews.canoe.ca. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  15. ^ "Ottawa's Parliament Hill just one site for planned 4/20 protest". Digitaljournal.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "420 Day- Cannabis Festival". samesun.com Samesun Nation Travel Blog. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  17. ^ "Canada's marijuana activists unite against American-style drug laws – 420 vote mobs to be held in over 10 cities across Canada on April 20th". newswire.ca CNW Group. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  18. ^ "Hundreds of Tokers Flood Alberta Legislature in Protest to Push for Legalization of Marijuana". Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  19. ^ Hall, Neal (May 2, 2009). "Thousands of marijuana smokers gather in Vancouver to celebrate "420"". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  20. ^ Bookwalter, Genevieve (04/07/2009). "Mom and Dad now know about '4/20'". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 20 April 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Hopkins, Steve (January 10, 2010). "Pot clubs go nationwide". Sunday News. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Porteous, Debbie (June 12, 2008). "Police swoop on cannabis protest". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  23. ^ "420 Protest". Channel 9 News Dunedin. February 22, 2008. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Porteous, Debbie (July 11, 2008). "Campus arrests follow marijuana complaints (+ video)". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  25. ^ Rudd, Allison (September 26, 2008). "Moore's appeal rejected". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  26. ^ Rudd, Allison (July 22, 2008). "Lack of quorum foils cannabis vote". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  27. ^ Rudd, Allison (September 20, 2008). "OUSA general meeting promises controversy". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  28. ^ "State alters 420 MM sign to thwart thieves". KUSA-TV. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
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