Where does '420' come from?!
Question: Well, ive hear that its from a group of kids that got together to blaze at 4:20 every day, is that where it comes from? I also hear there are 420 seeds or something to do with the marijuana plant.
Answers: Well, ive hear that its from a group of kids that got together to blaze at 4:20 every day, is that where it comes from? I also hear there are 420 seeds or something to do with the marijuana plant.
For the record, 420 of the California penal code refers to obstructing entry on public land. The number is not a police radio code, and the number of chemical compounds in marijuana is 315, according to the folks at High Times magazine, who should know. Morrison died on July 3, Hendrix on September 18, and Joplin on October 4.
According to Steven Hager, editor of High Times, the term 420 originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971, among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking wiseacres who called themselves the Waldos. The term 420 was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot.
``Waldo Steve,'' a member of the group who now owns a business in San Francisco, says the Waldos would salute each other in the school hallway and say ``420 Louis!'' The term was one of many invented by the group, but it was the one that caught on.
``It was just a joke, but it came to mean all kinds of things, like `Do you have any?' or `Do I look stoned?' '' he said. ``Parents and teachers wouldn't know what we were talking about.''
The term took root, and flourished, and spread beyond San Rafael with the assistance of the Grateful Dead and their dedicated cohort of pot-smoking fans. The Waldos decided to assert their claim to the history of the term after decades of watching it spread, mutate and be appropriated by commercial interests.
The Waldos contacted Hager, and presented him with evidence of 420's history, primarily a collection of postmarked letters from the early '70s with lots of mention of 420. They also started a Web site, waldo420.com.
There are varying theories on the origin of 420. Some say that 420 originated from a police code that announces marijuana use is taking place. Yet another story is that a group of guys (Waldo's) in the 1970's made 4:20 their official meeting time to smoke marijuana after school. Whether or not 4:20 p.m. is the best time of day for your first hit depends on your own body, your own needs. Some folks feel that waiting until 4:20 enhances ones appreciation of the herb. Of course, your mileage may vary.
In the 21st Century, 420 is firmly established as a code amongst tokers, a time of day and even sort of a toker's New Year's Day. It's in our culture now and only time will tell where it ends up.
April 20th (4/20) is another usage, meaning that it is time for to plant before the summer.
Whatever the real story is, 420 has been an important part of the marijuana culture since the 1970's. The significance of 420 has been kept underground and is mostly known only among marijuana smokers. Many non-smokers aren't aware of the symbolism when they see someone wearing a T-shirt or baseball cap that says 420 across the front.
When the 420 icon is somehow discreetly worked into a mainstream product like a film, marijuana users take notice. The film Pulp Fiction is rumored to have had all clocks throughout the movie set to 4:20. Marijuana smokers familiar with the symbol picked up on it