There is chance you have heard about 420, but a lot of people have no idea what it means. Some people do know what it means, but why 420? In this blog we tell you all about the origins of this special code that became an international day of celebrating cannabis.
How it all started
Just like many other things it was the youth who is responsible for the hype. It all started with five high school kids in 1971. The Californian group at San Rafeal High School was better known as The Waldos.
They had heard about an abandoned cannabis crop and they decided to look for it. They used a treasure map made by the grower and looked for weeks. The Waldos used the Louis Pasteur statue as their meeting spot.
Every day they met at 4:20 to search for the crop after school. They didn’t want anybody to find out so when they saw each other in the hallway during the day, their shorthand was “420 Louis” which means: “Let’s meet at the Louis Pasteur statue at 4:20. Unfortunately they never found the cannabis heaven.
Everybody knows
After several failed attempts to find the crop the group gave up. Their phrase was shortened to simply 420 and evolved into a code-word that high school kids used to mean consuming cannabis. Even if you never smoked weed, you’re probably aware of the code-word. 420 is a holy term for people who feel like that they’re a part of the cannabis culture. People all around the world celebrate this culture on the 20th of April.
Other (false) theories
We use the code 420, because…
It’s the best day to plant you Marihuana seeds – No, it depends on where you life
It refers to the police code and the law about cannabis – No, there is a law in California (Bill 420) about using medical marihuana, but the law was created in 2003. 420 started in the seventees.
It’s Bob Marley’s birthday – It’s simply not true.
