April 20th is just a normal day for most people with no particular significance, but for stoner’s its essentially Christmas. April 20th is the most holy day on the stoner calendar. Stoner’s everywhere on the globe will be united on 4/20 and countless marijuana buds will be smoked. But why is this? What makes 4/20 such a special day for pot smokers? As the stoner holiday approaches more and more non pot smokers will hear the term “420” and become perplexed as to its meaning and feel left out when other stoner’s laugh amongst themselves after it is mentioned. But don’t feel bad you non-smokers believe it or not most stoner’s don’t even know where the term and consequently the day really came from.
The only thing agreed upon by the stoner community is that 420 has evolved to represent a time of day (4:20am & 4:20pm) thats perfect for a smoker break. That time being either right before breakfast and right when work and/or school is over. Because of this the day 4/20 holds a special significance for stoner’s everywhere making it the most important day on the stoner calendar. However the original meaning of the term 420 is still a matter of some debate and myths and legends are rampant in the stoner community.
Some of these myths are as follows: 420 represents the number of active chemicals in marijuana. Marijuana does have alot of chemicals however the main active chemical is THC (which is what the causes the euphoria a smoker feels after smoking pot) which is only one main chemical thus this myth has no merit. 420 is California police code for possession of marijuana, this myth is just plain false. 420 is the time of day to have tea in Holland (a country where pot is legal). The truth of the matter is no one knows when its tea time in Holland so this theory is more then likely false. Still another somewhat silly theory holds that 420 is a representation of the position of the hands of a clock when compared to the way a “doobie” (Joint, Jay, Bone etc) is left hanging in a persons mouth while smoking marijuana. Still other theories have a more sinister connotation. Oh such theory holds that 420 was adopted by a group of racist smokers as a celebration of Hitlers birthday. This is patently ridicules! First of all I think racist and stoner are contradictions in terms in fact stoner’s are among the most culturally diverse group of people on the face of the earth. Often marijuana has actually brought people together under a common interest. So if none of these theories are just myths with no truth to them then what is the real origin and purpose of 420?
It has become accepted that 420 (pronounced four-twenty NEVER four hundred twenty) was created by a group of teenage stoner’s in California in the 1970’s. These stoner’s called themselves “Waldos” and went to San Rafael High School. The term 420 was developed by the stoner’s to have there own language so as to be able to talk about marijuana in front of: parents, teachers and administrators with them being none the wiser. The meaning of 420 was originally intended to represent the time of day where the Waldos would meet to smoke marijuana and socialize. This explanation for the origin of 420 has become widely accepted by the stoner community. However its true meaning is somewhat dubious to the stoner’s of today because 420 no longer means strictly the time of day to smoke. No, it is used broadly to talk about marijuana use and has become a globally uses symbol of pot counter culture. The date 4/20 has become the stoner day of unity. Stoner’s from all cultures and socio-economic backgrounds light up on this day to rebel against marijuana prohibition and for one day out of the year step out of the shadows and proclaim in one voice “WE ARE STONER’S!” 420 has become a way of identifying ones relationship with a: plant, ideology and community unto itself and the fact that this simple number can unify people in such ways is just marvelous.
