420 (cannabis culture)

420
Statue of Louis Pasteur created by Benny Bufano[1][2] at San Rafael High School, said to be the site of the original 4:20 gatherings
Observed by Cannabis counterculture, legal reformers, entheogenic spiritualists, and general users of cannabis
Type Secular
Significance Day to smoke Cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m
Observances Cannabis consumption
Date April 20
Frequency annual

420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is slang in cannabis culture for the consumption of cannabis, especially smoking cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m. (or 16:20 in 24-hour notation) and smoking cannabis in celebration on the date April 20 (which is 4/20 in U.S. form).[3]

Origins

In 1971, five high school students – Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich [4] – in San Rafael, California,[5][6] calling themselves the Waldos[7][8] because "their chosen hang-out spot was a wall outside the school",[9] used the term in connection with a 1971 plan to search for an abandoned cannabis crop that they had learned about,[7][10] based on a treasure map made by the grower.[11] 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.[9] The Waldos referred to this plan with the phrase "4:20 Louis". After several failed attempts to find the crop, the group eventually shortened their phrase to simply "4:20", which ultimately evolved into a codeword that the teens used to mean consuming cannabis.[10]

Mike Edison says that Steven 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.[12] Hager wrote "Stoner Smart or Stoner Stupid?", in which he attributed the early spread of the phrase to Grateful Dead followers[13] – after Reddix became a roadie for the Dead's bassist, Phil Lesh[4] – and called for 4:20 p.m. to be the socially accepted hour of the day to consume cannabis.[13]

Vancouver, April 20, 2012

April 20 has become an international counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.[3][14][15] Many such events have a political nature to them, advocating the liberalization / legalization of cannabis. Vivian McPeak, a founder of Seattle's Hempfest states that 4/20 is "half celebration and half call to action".[16] Paul Birch calls it a global movement and suggests that one can't stop events like these.[17]

On that day many marijuana users protest in civil disobedience by gathering in public to light up at 4:20 p.m.[18]

As marijuana continues to be decriminalized and legalized around the world, Steve DeAngelo, cannabis activist and founder of California's Harborside Health Center, notes that "even if our activist work were complete, 420 morphs from a statement of conscience to a celebration of acceptance, a celebration of victory, a celebration of our amazing connection with this plant" and that he thinks that "it will always be worthy of celebration".[19][20]

In North America

Thousands illegally consume cannabis in Golden Gate Park to celebrate 420 and end prohibition, April 20, 2013

North American observances have been held at many locations, including:

Elsewhere

Events have also occurred in Hyde Park in London[37] and Dunedin, New Zealand, at the University of Otago.[38][39][40][41][42][43]

Other impacts

Traffic safety

Using 25 years of U.S. national data, one study found a 12% increase in the risk of fatal motor vehicle crash between 4:20 p.m. and midnight on April 20 compared to identical time intervals on control days. Among the subgroup of drivers less than 21 years of age, risks were 38% higher on April 20 than on control days.[44]

Stolen signs

Signs bearing the number 420 have been frequently stolen. In Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation replaced the Mile Marker 420 sign on I-70 east of Denver with one reading 419.99 in an attempt to stop the thievery.[45] Though the sign post should appear just east of Flagler, Colorado, travelling east from exit 419 one now only sees mile post 419, and then 2 miles farther sees mile post 421 (as noted after July 2017). The Idaho Department of Transportation (ITD) replaced the Mile Marker 420 sign on U.S. Highway 95, just south of Coeur d'Alene, with Mile Marker 419.9.[46] In Goodhue County, Minnesota, officials have changed "420 St" street signs to "42x St".[47]

Legislation

In 2003, California Senate Bill 420 was introduced to regulate medical marijuana use, in deliberate reference to the status of 420 in marijuana culture. An unsuccessful 2010 bill to legalize cannabis in Guam was called Bill 420.[48]

Dial-code of the Czech Republic

As the country dial-code of the Czech Republic is 420 and the rate of cannabis use there is one of the highest in the world,[49][50] some foreign visitors think that cannabis is legal in this Central European country. However, those smoking cannabis outdoors will be fined and possessing more than 10 grams of marijuana is considered a crime.[51] In 2016, Snoop Dogg displayed his knowledge of marijuana on the game show, The $100,000 Pyramid. Snoop replied without delay that the country code for the Czech Republic is 420.[52] He would later use the number as one of the dollar amounts in the "Face the Devil" bonus round of his 2017 reboot of the classic American TV game show The Joker's Wild.

Honors

Following the success of Washington D.C.'s Initiative 71 to legalize cannabis in 2014, Mayor Muriel Bowser granted license plate number 420 to the campaign's leader, Adam Eidinger.[53]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Daily Independent Journal from San Rafael, California". November 20, 1954. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ Chronicle, San Francisco (1962). The San Francisco Chronicle Reader. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  3. 1 2 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. 1 2 Olivia B. Waxman (April 19, 2017). "What the Guys Who Coined '420' Think About Their Place in Marijuana History". Time. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Stoner Chic Traces Origin To San Rafael – Snickering high schoolers brought `420' into lexicon". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  6. 1 2 McKinley, Jesse (April 19, 2009). "Marijuana Advocates Point to Signs of Change". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2010. 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.
  7. 1 2 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.
  8. ↑ "High Expectations: Marketers Hope for Buzz on 4/20". The Wall Street Journal. April 20, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Grim, Ryan (April 20, 2009). "What 420 Means: The True Story Behind Stoners' Favorite Number". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Grim, Ryan (April 20, 2010). "420 Meaning: The True Story Of How April 20 Became 'Weed Day'". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  11. ↑ Alyssa Pereira (April 20, 2016). "Local originators of term 420 solve 45-year-old mystery". San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. ↑ 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 978-0-86547-903-6. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Stoner Smart, or Stoner Stupid?". High Times. 2008. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  14. ↑ Halnon, Karen Bettez (April 11, 2005). "The power of 420". Archived from the original on May 13, 2013.
  15. ↑ "420 event lists".
  16. ↑ "How marijuana's high holiday came to be". New York Post. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  17. ↑ Gayle, Damien (April 19, 2015). "Thousands of cannabis users roll up in Hyde Park for annual 4/20 event". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Marijuana's big day is here: '420' celebrations ready to roll". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Does 4/20 Still Matter?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Annual 420 pot rally will be more celebration than protest: Organizers". Toronto Sun. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  21. ↑ "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.
  22. ↑ CU's 4/20 pot smoke-out draws crowd of 10,000 : CU News.
  23. ↑ "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.
  24. ↑ Johnson, Gene. "How 4/20 ... grew ... into a 'holiday'". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Denver 420 event will be a mix of marijuana politics and celebration". Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Pot activists to light up on Hill". Cnews.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  27. ↑ "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.
  28. ↑ "420 Day- Cannabis Festival". samesun.com Samesun Nation Travel Blog. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  29. ↑ "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. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  30. ↑ "Hundreds of Tokers Flood Alberta Legislature in Protest to Push for Legalization of Marijuana". Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  31. ↑ Hall, Neal (May 2, 2009). "Thousands of marijuana smokers gather in Vancouver to celebrate "420"". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  32. ↑ "Marijuana protest planned for the Vancouver Art Gallery despite 4/20 moving to Sunset Beach". April 19, 2016.
  33. ↑ Johnson, Lisa (April 20, 2016). "4/20 pot rally draws tens of thousands in Vancouver". CBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  34. ↑ Davies, Pete (April 21, 2010). "Washington Square Gets Its Grit Back on 420 Day - Curbed NY". Curbed. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Denver's new Mile High 420 Festival announces all-star lineup " Denver Post". denverpost.com. March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  36. ↑ Bookwalter, Genevieve (April 7, 2009). "Mom and Dad now know about '4/20'". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  37. ↑ Gayle, Damien (April 21, 2016). "Police make 20 arrests at cannabis picnic in London's Hyde Park". the Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  38. ↑ Porteous, Debbie (June 12, 2008). "Police swoop on cannabis protest". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  39. ↑ "420 Protest". Channel 9 News Dunedin. February 22, 2008. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  40. ↑ Porteous, Debbie (July 11, 2008). "Campus arrests follow marijuana complaints (+ video)". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  41. ↑ Rudd, Allison (September 26, 2008). "Moore's appeal rejected". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  42. ↑ Rudd, Allison (July 22, 2008). "Lack of quorum foils cannabis vote". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  43. ↑ Rudd, Allison (September 20, 2008). "OUSA general meeting promises controversy". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
  44. ↑ Staples, John A.; Redelmeier, Donald A. (2018). "The April 20 Cannabis Celebration and Fatal Traffic Crashes in the United States". JAMA Internal Medicine. 178 (4): 569. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.8298.
  45. ↑ "State alters 420 MM sign to thwart thieves". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Idaho replaces mile marker 420 with 419.9 to thwart stoners". KTVB. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  47. ↑ "County finds fix for missing 420 signs". Post-Bulletin. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  48. ↑ Only one shows up for pot bill (July 15, 2010). "Only one shows up for pot bill". Mvguam.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  49. ↑ World Drug Report 2016: Prevalence of drug use in the general population (XLS) (Report). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2016.
  50. ↑ Czech Republic: Country Drug Report (PDF) (Report). European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. 2017.
  51. ↑ "5 Myths About Cannabis In The Czech Republic". 420 Meta. May 9, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  52. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Snoop Dogg Shows Off His Impressive Marijuana Knowledge With Martha Stewart on '$100,000 Pyramid'". Entertainment Tonight.
  53. ↑ "D.C. mayor offers pot activist Tag 420 for his efforts". Washington Post.
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