If you’ve spent any time around cannabis, you are probably aware that the number 420 is associated with the plant, April 20th is the day to celebrate it and 4:20 is the time to smoke it. So how did 420 become linked to cannabis? Many have speculated that it was a police code for the plant, the number of active chemicals in cannabis or even that one Bob Dylan song.
However, as it turns out, the term’s origin story is almost as interesting as how the term spread throughout the world. Here's everything we know about how 420 became the term for cannabis:
IT ALL STARTED WITH SOME HIGH SCHOOLERS IN CALIFORNIA
As with most slang terms in the U.S., the origin of 420 can be traced back to a group of five high schoolers in California.
In 1971, the group, known as “the Waldos” because they would often hang out by a wall at their San Rafael high school, learned of a Coast Guard member who had cannabis plants that they were no longer able to tend to. With a treasure map in hand that supposedly led to the abandoned crop, the group would meet by a statue at their high school to search. Because they were all athletes, they would meet after practice — at 4:20 p.m.
The Waldos would pile into a car, smoke some cannabis and begin searching for the free plants near Point Reyes Forest. To remind each other to meet after practice on certain days, they would simply refer to their mission as “420”.
While they never did find the elusive cannabis plants, their code word became something even more long lasting. They had ultimately coined the term 420, allowing high schoolers to discuss smoking cannabis without their parents or teacher being the wiser.
The Waldos hold proof that they did, in fact, use the term during their high school days. A vault in San Francisco houses numerous letters with early 1970s post marks referencing 420, their old, tie-dyed 420 flag and newspaper clippings pointing back to their group.
THE SPREAD OF THE TERM 420
The term makes frequent appearances in popular culture that you no longer have to consume cannabis to know what it means. The clocks in Pulp Fiction are set to 4:20, California’s 2003 medical cannabis bill was named SB 420 and the term even pops up on dating and roommate apps to alert fellow smokers that they are “420 friendly”.
So, while the origin of the term is a fun high school story, how did the Waldos’ code word spread across the world and create such a print on pop culture?
It all started with the Grateful Dead. One of the Waldos’ brothers was friends with the band’s bassist, Phil Lesh, and the gang would get high with the band at their concerts and recording studio in San Rafael. From there, it began to spread throughout that community.
Then, in 1990, the term came to the attention of Steven Bloom, a reporter for High Times magazine. He was covering a Grateful Dead concert and wading through a crowd when someone handed him a flyer that read, “We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais.” Bloom reported the term in High Times and the magazine helped launch the word into the global sphere.
THE 420 HOLIDAY WE KNOW AND LOVE
The Waldos never imagined that cannabis lovers and pop culture alike would continue to use their term and celebrate cannabis each year on April 20th or each day at 4:20. 420 has managed to become more than just a term or national holiday, but a symbol of community in the face of cannabis prohibition.
In 2020, cannabis was deemed an essential product and business during the pandemic. Cannabis businesses experienced record sales as people chose the plant to help cope with quarantines and communities came together to legalize the plant in five states in November. So far this year, two more states have already legalized cannabis and federal legalization legislation is being seriously considered in Congress.
With cannabis quickly becoming a staple in many Americans’ lives, the Waldos have solidified themselves in the cannabis history books. How are you celebrating 420?
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