pipes

420 History: The Stories Behind April 20 Becoming ‘Weed Day’

“The origin of the term 420, celebrated around the world by pot smokers every April 20th, has long been obscured by the clouded memories of the folks who made it a phenomenon.The Huffington Post chased the term back to its roots and was able to find it in a lost patch of cannabis in a Point Reyes, California forest. Just as interesting as its origin, it turns out, is how it spread.”
~ www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/19/420-history-the-story-beh_n_851136.html

“Both marijuana smokers and non-smokers recognize April 20 or 4/20 as a national holiday for cannabis culture, but few actually know how the date got chosen.Some say “420” is code among police officers for “marijuana smoking in progress.” Some note 4/20 is also Adolf Hitler’s birthday. And some go as far as to cite Bob Dylan’s song “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” because 12 multiplied by 35 equals 420.But, to put it bluntly, those rumors are false.”
~ time.com/4292844/420-april-20-marijuana-pot-holiday-history/

“It seems like states are loosening marijuana laws all the time these days. With the decriminalization of either medical or recreational marijuana, smoking a joint in public seems to be getting less and less of a big deal, depending on the state in which you live, of course. Does that mean 420 is a thing of the past now?Oh, of course not. We’re all adults here. Let’s not be naive.”
~ http://www.techtimes.com/articles/46015/20150418/the-history-of-420-how-april-20-became-national-weed-day.htm

“A group of people in San Rafael, California,^[2]^[3] calling themselves the Waldos^[4] because “their chosen hang-out spot was a wall outside the school”,^[5] used the term in connection with a fall 1971 plan to search for an abandoned cannabis crop that they had learned about,^[4]^[6] based on a treasure map made by the grower.^[7] The Waldos designated the Louis Pasteur statue on the grounds of San Rafael High School as their meeting place, and 4:20 p.m. as their meeting time.^[5] The Waldos referred to this plan with the phrase “4:20 Louis”. Several failed attempts to find the crop eventually shortened their phrase to simply “4:20″, which ultimately evolved into a codeword that the teens used to mean marijuana-smoking in general.”
~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_%28cannabis_culture%29