Every year on 20 April, all over the world, in parks, at festivals, or simply in living rooms, people gather to pay tribute to a holiday that has no place in official calendars. The date refers to the numbers 4/20, which have been associated with cannabis for decades. Why this combination of numbers?
If you asked a random passer-by where the 4/20 tradition came from, the answer would probably be along the lines of it being a police code for marijuana or Bob Marley’s favourite number. Both are complete myths, and we should add that 420 is also the call sign for the Czech Republic, long the most smoked country in Europe. However, that is not the reason why 4/20 is associated with cannabis either. The real story is much more compelling and takes us across the ocean to the United States.
A legend born in California
It is the summer of 1971, and a group of friends at San Rafael High School in Marin County, California, have time on their hands. They hang around the campus, sit on the wall in front of the school, and from there tease their classmates. After some time, this earns them the nickname Waldos from the others, a reference to the English word wall.
Perhaps as payback for one of their pranks, the Waldos receive a map from a friend who allegedly got it from his Coast Guard brother. It is supposed to show a secret plot full of top-quality cannabis that soldiers planted there but cannot harvest. The group of friends does not think about it for long and arranges to meet the next day by the statue of Louis Pasteur in front of the school, and, you guessed it, at 4:20 in the afternoon. The Waldos smoke a joint and set off in search of it, but the attempt ends in failure. They go hunting again the following day, and many days after that too. The Waldos never find their dream field of grass, and who knows whether it ever existed at all. What is more important, however, is that the afternoons they spend together strengthen their friendship, which lasts a lifetime.
The Waldos began using the combination 4/20 as a code for anything related to cannabis. The slang term quickly caught on at school and began spreading among American teenagers like wildfire. The legendary group Grateful Dead permanently etched 4/20 into the consciousness of American smokers. Dave Reddix, one of the Waldos, became friends with the band’s bassist Phil Lesh, who picked up the term and started using it. It was not long before the 4/20 code began spreading through the huge cannabis-loving community of Deadheads, as the band’s fans call themselves.
From secret meetings to the first major events
The Waldos never found their mythical field of marijuana, but they unknowingly planted a seed that grew into a global phenomenon. A great deal of credit for this goes to Steve Bloom, a reporter for High Times, who also wrote concert reports from Grateful Dead shows for the magazine. In December 1990, Steve attended a performance by the band in the American city of Oakland. One of the Deadheads shoved a strange flyer into his hand inviting people to a joint 4/20 at 4:20 in the afternoon on 20 April. Bloom liked the idea and began using the numbers 4/20 regularly in his articles. High Times was for years considered a kind of bible of cannabis culture, and anyone who wanted to find their way in the world of grass read the magazine, not only in America. Thanks to High Times, the regional slang thus began to turn into an internationally recognised code for cannabis. However, High Times did not publish the real Waldos story until 1998, when one of the group’s members approached the magazine’s then editor Hager to shed light on the legend.
The first organised mass events referring to 4/20 began to emerge even before the end of the 1980s. For example, the Boston Freedom Rally in 1989, which called for a change in the laws. But if the 4/20 celebrations have any spiritual home, it is undoubtedly Hippie Hill. This gentle slope in the heart of San Francisco in Golden Gate Park was first an unofficial place where locals would go to get high. Gradually, however, an annual cannabis celebration spontaneously emerged here, and today it attracts huge numbers of people.
The designation 4/20 has also often become a symbol for events fighting for changes to cannabis laws. A prominent figure in early 4/20 activism was Ken Gorman, a Vietnam veteran, candidate for governor of Colorado, and tireless campaigner for cannabis legalisation. In 1992, he organised the first of the annual “smoke-ins” on the lawn in front of the state capitol building in Denver. It was a political protest where people came to show lawmakers that they did not agree with the ban on cannabis. In 2011, the last year before cannabis was legalised in Colorado, the gathering attracted thousands of people. Gorman, however, did not live to see legalisation. He was murdered in 2007, and his case has not yet been solved.
The roots of 4/20 lie in defiance against the authorities associated with cannabis prohibition. But as attitudes towards this plant change, the meaning of these numbers changes too. What was once slang for insiders is today mainly a huge marketing draw. Cannabis companies regularly achieve record profits on this day, and more than one celebrity uses 4/20 as part of their brand. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa regularly run advertising campaigns and live streams on this day. Miley Cyrus has repeatedly used 4/20 to time her music videos. And then there is Elon Musk, who incorporated the number 420 into his provocative tweets about taking Tesla private at $420 per share. At HiSeeds, we wish you a happy 4/20 in the company of good people and great cannabis, without unnecessary stress and controversy, as is fitting on this day.
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