Did you leave milk and cookies out for Snoop Dogg last night? Have you driven by a cannabis shop and seen lines out the door? Are all the Cheetos at your local grocery store gone from the shelves? Then it must be 4/20! The stoners holiday.
A question that has plagued me and many of my peers for a while now, why is April 20th the day we celebrate smoking weed? Currently in nine states, weed for recreational use is legal, and here in glorious Portland, Oregon there are sales aplenty for the stoner in your life. Many shops are doing buy one get one deals, 50% off, and anything your stoner heart could want.
The long standing rumor was that 420 was code used in California against marijuana cases. This rumor was found later to be false as 420 is the California code for trespassing.
The unofficial story actually dates back to 1971 when a group of kids from San Rafael High School in California found a map that would lead them to a grouping of cannabis plants. The group of kids were known as 'The Waldos.' This group of friends would meet at 4:20 pm to get high and were going to meet at this time to find the plants. This was accepted as the best time since everyone would be out of school, but their parents wouldn't be home yet to wonder where they were. The term 420 then became the secret code word to use amongst each other in the general public to reference weed without others knowing.
According to a story in Time, one of The Waldos became a roadie for The Grateful Dead and that is when the term began to flourish.
There is no actual evidence to support any theory as to why 4/20 became the weed smokers holiday, but the official unofficial story is that of The Waldos. As of now, these high school kids will ride out as our 4/20 kings and queens.
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