What Does 420 Mean: Everything You Need To Know About the Holiday
Cannabis is the reason for the season. If you’re new to cannabis culture, it’s probably weird to see so many people call a plant by number. What do the two have to do with each other? Why does everyone pick one day every year to celebrate weed? What makes that day so special?
There’s a lot of history behind 420. Over the years, the holiday has evolved from a way to protest the law to an all-out celebration. Here’s everything you need to know about 420 and why it’s important.
What Does 420 Mean?
420 means cannabis and anything having to do with cannabis. It’s a general codeword that refers to smoking pot. Because cannabis is illegal in more than half of the country, a lot of people still feel safer talking about it in code.
Huge celebrations surrounding weed spoiled the secret, but many people still use code words or slang anyway. When you say “420,” every police officer knows what you mean. These terms have been around for so many decades that they’ve become an important part of the culture, even if the secret is out.
Where Did 420 Come From?
There are a lot of stories about where 420 might have come from. Most of them are easily debunked. For example, 420 isn’t Bob Marley’s birthday. California penal code 420 has nothing to do with cannabis. There are a lot more than 420 compounds in cannabis. These are clearly not the answers to the question.
There’s also a link to 420 and HP Lovecraft. In Lovecraft’s science fiction short story “In The Walls of Eryx,” the protagonist finds some strange plants. These plants make him hallucinate and experience weird things. At one point, the main character says he feels like a lot of time had passed. When he looked at the clock, it was 4:20.
There’s one problem. The narrator says that only half an hour had passed while he was hallucinating. This means he got high at 3:50, and his high ended at 4:20. It’s a cool coincidence, but it’s unlikely that it has anything to do with the origins of 4:20.
There’s a lot of documentation to prove that it was actually a group of high school friends from California who came up with the term. The teenagers, who called themselves “The Waldos,” used to meet up after school to smoke pot in the 1970s. Their meeting time was 4:20 PM. They were able to arrange hang outs simply by asking “4:20?” to one another.
Since the phrase was unique to them, nobody knew what they were talking about. Their teachers and the police had no reason to assume that 4:20 had anything to do with cannabis. Neither did any of their classmates, which meant that the friends didn’t have to share their goods with anybody.
At least one of The Waldos went on to act as a roadie for The Grateful Dead, and they brought the term to the Dead’s fans. The fans circulated the term until eventually, it became a common expression among cannabis users. Now, most people who use cannabis in any form have heard the term and understand what it means.
What Does 420 Friendly Mean?
When businesses or people call themselves “420-friendly,” they’re saying they won’t give you a hard time if you use cannabis. There are a lot of 420-friendly places in states with legal recreational weed. Some people will mention that they’re 420-friendly on their dating profiles so they can meet people who share the same interest, or at the very least, don’t mind it.
The Formal Way To Celebrate 420
Most holidays have a deeper meaning. While there are many things we celebrate on a surface level, the layers of 420 run a little deeper. The original idea behind 420 celebration was to celebrate peaceful protesters and cannabis activists.
Over the decades, cannabis activists would gather in public places in major cities to smoke weed out in the open. They were trying to draw attention to their cause. They felt that the government’s position on weed was unreasonable. Weed is still classified as a dangerous drug, even though the people who made that classification didn’t have any research to back it up.
A lot of people used cannabis as a symbol. They were trying to say that they didn’t trust their government. They were anti-establishment and they weren’t afraid to show it. People began attending these gatherings to demonstrate and show the government that the laws they were enforcing weren’t in line with what the people actually wanted.
These gatherings forced people to have conversations about cannabis. Over time, these conversations had a positive impact on the way society viewed cannabis. Now, the majority of Americans support legal recreational cannabis. We’ve come a long way from where we used to be.
The formal way to celebrate 420 involves recognizing the role that people played through peaceful protest. A lot of them sacrificed their freedom by winding up in jail just to make a point. This makes 420 a great day to learn about the history of cannabis and understand its role in the modern world.
A meaningful way to spend 420 reading about the history of weed or taking steps to advocate for legalization in your state. Check with your local advocacy groups to see if they have any 420 events planned. Show up, hand out pamphlets, pass around petitions, and support the local businesses participating in 420 events.
The Less Formal Way to Celebrate 420
A lot of people treat 420 the same way they’d treat other holidays. You eat turkey on Thanksgiving. You hunt for candy eggs on Easter. You open presents on Christmas. You drink beer on St. Patrick’s day. You use cannabis on 420.
If you live in a state where cannabis is already recreationally legal, 420 is probably going to be different. There's no reason to try to persuade the people around you that the state’s law should be changed. You’re probably not going to run into people on the street holding up “LEGALIZE IT” signs. Everyone has been heard.
Even though cannabis is legal in your state, it isn’t legal on a federal level. The federal government still has the right to come to your state and arrest you for using cannabis. So far, the government has been great about respecting state laws. That doesn’t mean that things will always stay that way.
If you want to become a part of the cannabis movement, look for opportunities to promote change on a federal level. When you do that, you’re helping people in other states come closer to reaching complete cannabis freedom.
420 Events and Festivals
Most of the country is on board with cannabis, and a lot of people feel that cannabis use is just as normal or common as drinking alcohol. Since most people don’t view cannabis as a taboo thing, 420 has become more of a commercial holiday.
As recreational cannabis spreads across the country, these events will probably get bigger. While 420 will probably never be as big as Christmas, it’s reasonable to assume that it will keep growing in popularity every year.
Businesses participate by holding festivals. Bestselling and award winning musical artists show up to entertain crowds. In the past, artists like Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, and members of the Wu Tang Clan have performed at 420 festivals
These events are very similar to state fairs, but everyone is using cannabis instead of drinking beer. Local cannabis growers will show off their prized crops. Food trucks and pop-up stands will be set up for the day. They’ll serve up unique food inspired by strange “munchies” cravings or cannabis-infused drinks and snacks.
There are also cannabis awards events around the country, but they’re usually not held on April 20th. The High Times hosts Cannabis Cup events where judges and the general public get to vote on their favorite locally grown strains of weed. The winners are awarded at the festival, where the people who attend get to sample the best weed their area has to offer.
Raise a Glass of Good Feels to 420
Say cheers to the counterculture activists (aka the “dirty hippies”) that helped to change the world. Enjoy a Good Feels cannabis seltzer with your friends this 420. Our fast-acting cannabis seltzers will give you a gentle buzz that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Play your favorite stoner jams, spend time with your best friends, and support your local cannabis-based businesses. Enjoy your legal cannabis safely and responsibly.
Sources
"In the Walls of Eryx" by HP Lovecraft with Kenneth Sterling | The HP Lovecraft Archive
Proof of 420's Origin, Four Twenty Meaning | 420 Waldos
Take Action | National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
Happy 4/20! Here's how to celebrate with your favourite weed-loving musicians | NME
