We all know and lovingly use the term 420 as a ref
erence to the friendly neighborhood cannabis, but do you have any idea where it came from? Over the years, I’ve heard many theories: Is it the number of important active compounds this mystical plant? Is it the original police code for cannabis violations?
As it turns out, the code name can be traced all the way back to 1971, when a group of California teens—self-referred to as the Waldos—found out about an abandoned cannabis plant left by a local Coast Guardsman.
As the story goes, armed with the equivalent of a treasure map, the group would meet daily, after school (at 4:20pm), to search the nearby woods for the bud.
The nickname wouldn’t have gone anywhere, except that members of the Waldos had connections to the Grateful Dead, as luck would have it. One had family members managing their real estate, and another was friends with the bassist. In their interactions with the band, they would use the term “420” when passing a joint. Eventually, the code name reached international acclaim as a tried and true coinage.
I hope that you enjoy this most auspicious day of cannabis celebration, and if you need something fun to do, come to my open studio party today, 4-8! Stoner snacks, CBD mocktails and Delta-9 edibles samples from Crescent Canna, demos of my process, and access to my treasure trove of discounted seconds pipes. Help me be a good hostess and RSVP here!
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