Happy 420.

4/20 at 4:20 - The truth behind the myth

What's with the figure? Most of you must be asking the same question and I know several others reading this must know the answer. So let me start this short discourse with a fact on where this popular code came from. 

Wikepedia and Urban Dictionary states that this originated from a group of potheads in the 1970's calling themselves "Waldos" referring to the wall they hang out after school.  The statue of San Rafael Louis Pasteur on the grounds of San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California is where the Waldos meet at 4:20 pm everyday to get high.  At first they use "4:20 Loius" when they plan meet-ups and then it was shortened to "420", which emerged as the code used for smoking pot.  

Ryan Grim of the Huffington post tracked down the group who coined the term which they learned were composed of 5 members.  They got to talk to Waldo Steve, Waldo Dave and his older brother Patrick. They confirmed their identities but requested to keep it confidential for professional reasons.  So here goes the story as narrated by the Waldo's to the Huffington post. 

One day in the Fall of 1971 - harvest time - the Waldos got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos decided to pluck some of this free bud.

 The Waldos were all athletes and agreed to meet at the statue of Loius Pasteur outside the school at 4:20, after practice, to begin the hunt.

"We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out 4:20-Louis and we eventually dropped the Louis," Waldo Steve tells the Huffington Post.

The first forays out were unsuccessful, but the group kept looking for the hidden crop. "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."

But they did find a useful codeword. "I could say to one of my friends, I'd go, 420, and it was telepathic. He would know if I was saying, 'Hey, do you wanna go smoke some?' Or, 'Do you have any?' Or, 'Are you stoned right now?' It was kind of telepathic just from the way you said it," Steve says. "Our teachers didn't know what we were talking about. Our parents didn't know what we were talking about."

Dave is now a credit analyst for Steve who owns a lending institution.  The other 3 Waldos were also said to be triumphant in their chosen fields (head of marketing for a Napa Valley winery, the other working for printing/graphics and one as head of a roofing and gutter company).


Now we know the origin of 420 and that relatively it pertains to "Weed Day", check out how people gather for a giant smoke out every April 20th at 4:20 pm all over the globe.

USA

• University of Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
• Hippie Hill, Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, California)
• Porter Meadow, University of California Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
• Extravanganja (Amherst, Massachusetts)

CANADA

• Parliament Hill (Ottawa, Ontario)
• Mont-Royal Monument (Montreal, Quebec)
• Victoria Park downtown (London, Ontario)
• Queen's Park Circle, north of the Ontario Provincial Parliament (Toronto, Ontario)
• Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, British Columbia)

NEW ZEALAND

• Daktory (Auckland)
•  Walnut tree, Otago University's Union Lawn (Dunedin)

Here's a coverage of the 420 celebration in Vancouver last year.

As for the weed virgin like myself, I have nothing against the Cannabis Culture. If advocates redeem relaxation, peace, redemption and good vibes in smoking pot, that's well and good. To each it's own -stick to what you think works for you. Today, in celebration of this unofficial potheads' festival, I will wear my 420 shirt and at exactly 4:20 pm today, I'll drink coffee and leave the smoking up to you. Happy 420! 

"I never endorsed the use of marijuana. But hey, it worked for me," says Waldo Dave. "I'm sure on my headstone it'll say: 'One of the 420 guys.'"

Some photos taken from digitaljournal.com and beyondrobson.com