Feeling the 420 blues?
Oh, I’m sure you do! As cannabis enthusiasts, we all look forward to this yearly celebration of 420 that is being observed worldwide even in places where marijuana is still illegal.
Now let’s see how 420 will be celebrated/observed in some of the popular cannabis destinations around the world.
Colorado
Join the Colorado Cannabis Tours in this year’s 420 week. Packed with events, concert, tours and a lot of other festivities awaiting every cannabis enthusiast.
Or check out this list of activities and choose what you fancy: https://www.coloradopotguide.com/420/
Canada
Smoke Out Vancouver is a protest celebration happening yearly that started in 1995 and have continually gathered more and more followers each year.
Europe
London UK – Cannabis lovers gather at Hyde Park for the yearly 420 activities with awesome performances and great music.
Copenhagen, Denmark – a great place to spend your 420 with its district called Christiania that has a law allowing marijuana to be sold and bought legally.
Prague, Czech Republic – this place is pot-friendly and it has a food truck for pot only. What a great way to enjoy 420!
In the U.S. where the code 420 started, 4/20 or April 20 is now dubbed as National Weed Day.
How it all started?
With all that festivities on 420, have you pondered why it is called as such and why it has made history in the marijuana revolution? I bet, you have your answers figured out. From police secret code for “marijuana smoking in progress” to Adolf Hitler’s birthday to Bob Marley’s birthday or the number of chemical compounds found in marijuana and the list goes on…
Now let’s see if your idea matches with what we found out which is backed by documentation as evidence.
The term 420 was used by a group of students who were athletes at the San Rafael High School in 1971. They called themselves the Waldos, attributing the name to the wall next to their high, where they hung out.
It all started when one of the Waldos got in possession of a “treasure map” made by a US Coast Guardsman, who was growing marijuana plants in a Federal property near the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse. With the quest of finding these marijuana crops, the Waldos agreed to meet up after their practice at 4:20 Louis. And every time they meet in the school hallways they’d remind each other “4:20, Louis”. Louis which was later dropped stands for the statue of Louis Pasteur located just outside their school.
The search went on for weeks and 4:20 became the Waldos code for marijuana.
“We’d meet at 4:20 and get in my old ‘66 Chevy Impala and, of course, we’d smoke instantly and smoke all the way out to Pt. Reyes and smoke the entire time we were out there. We did it week after week,” says Steve. “We never actually found the patch.”
Although the Waldos never found that mythical crops, they succeeded in coining a code which has become a global phenomenon in the marijuana movement. But how did it all spread?
Well, the Waldos had made a close association with an American rock band from the 60’s called the Grateful Dead, who moved to Marin County Hills which is not far from San Rafael. More than the proximity of the Waldos and the band, Waldo Mark’s father was minding the band’s real estate matters, while Waldo Dave’s brother was a friend to the band’s bassist Phil Lesh. And the group had accessed to the band rehearsals and concerts where they’d used the term 420. It was in these instances that it was believed that the term spread and gain popularity.
Image courtesy of waldo420.com
As the band toured in the 70’s and 80’s, 420 became popular in the Dead underground. Although Lesh can’t remember when was the first time he heard the term when asked after a concert but he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the 420 was started by the Waldos.
In 1990, 28th of December the Grateful Dead’s fan group called Deadheads handed out flyers inviting people to smoke 420 on April 20 at 4:20 pm, for which one copy ended up in the hands of a former High Times magazine reporter Steve Bloom.
The magazine featured the said flyer in 1991 and started integrating the term 420 in their activities and events. It was in these media exposures that the term reached global popularity. High Times also purchased a web domain called 420.com.
Anyhow, no matter how the code spread and gained popularity worldwide, the Waldo’s story of coming up with the term 420 is credible, backed by documents that you can find on their website Waldo420.com.
So the next time someone asks what 420 means and how it all started, you can confidently say you have the right answer for now, unless someone else much credible with documents as proof can put the Waldos claim into another myth or 420 tales.
That’s all for now, wishing you all an awesome 420 day. Being high is good but too much high may get you in trouble. Be mindful, my 420 friends…
Do you observe 420 in your own way?
Share your story in the comments section below.
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