420 – what does it mean? Why am I talking about it?
It all started in the early 70’s with a group of 5 teenage boys who would meet up after school to smoke marijuana. They met at a wall by their school at 4:20pm and became known as the “Waldo’s”. They would say ‘420’ to each other as their secret code.
The story goes on to a treasure hunt for a hidden pot grow. Spoiler alert – they never did find the treasure.
Fast forward a few years and the Grateful Dead and Hightimes caught wind of the term and began to popularize it to the term that we know today. Today, 420 is known as the annual public gathering of people to smoke weed and references to weed culture. Many weed proponents will honor this day as a holiday and smoke pot the entire day in parks, parades, festivals and back yards. Mark your calendar for April 20. Will this be your first 420?
If 420 is new to you, why should you even care?
As the Cannabis culture expands from our traditional pot smoking icon to the wider use and acceptance of Cannabis for medical and spiritual use – we owe our new freedom to many legacy growers and advocates within the Cannabis culture. Many people have risked their freedom and ended up in jail for speaking up about marijuana. 420 for me, is an opportunity to honor these people for their sacrifice for decades. If 420 is new for you – send out some gratitude and respect for our predecessor. Remember their sacrifice as you take an extra toke or consume your regular daily dose of Cannabis. There are still people in jail serving time for marijuana related charges – even though it is no longer illegal. Check out https://norml.org/ for all the work they do supporting an end to marijuana criminalization.
If you’d like to dig a little deeper into 420, check out the Waldo’s website: https://420waldos.com/
(Photo: Business Wire)