Brains
What Is the Real Origin of 420?
The origin of 420 is one of pop culture’s best-kept secrets. Each year on this day, 4/20, 20 April, marijuana enthusiasts all around the world, from Amsterdam to London to California, congregate to celebrate cannabis culture, whether it’s legal or not.
Every year, more than a thousand people gather in London’s Hyde Park to mark 4/20, smoking joints together at the designated time while calling for cannabis to be legalized, and tens of thousands party peacefully in Denver with hundreds of vendors and free music performances.
420 Myths Debunked: What It Definitely Is Not
That cannabis is becoming more and more accepted in our culture is not beyond question, but why do we celebrate it on April 20? What is the truth behind the origins of this day, and what are some of the urban myths?
- One such urban myth suggested that 420 was the penal code in the state of California used by police officers for marijuana use. However, according to Snopes.com, the 420 penal code refers to “obstructing entry on public land” and does not refer to marijuana use in any other US state, either.
- No. It is not the date Bob Marley died (5/11/81), nor is 4/20 his birthday. It is also not the date that Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, or Jim Morrison died.
- Another musical link is Bob Dylan’s song, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” and its lyric, “Everybody must get stoned.” Multiply 12 by 35, and you get 420. A little tenuous, and Dylan himself has never confirmed any link.
- Neither the LAPD nor the NYPD has a code 420. San Francisco Police have one, but it’s for a “juvenile disturbance.”
- Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, and April 20 is also the anniversary date of another horrible buzzkill, the Columbine High School massacre of 1999. Fortunately, that is not 420’s origin, as references to 420 date back to the 1970s.
So, if the above is all garbage, where did it originate? And how did it spread to everyday use and general pop culture? There is one explanation that seems to have the most credence and is widely accepted by most… it started with some California stoners who wanted to score some free weed.
The Waldos: Five Students Who Accidentally Invented a Holiday
In the fall of 1971, harvest time, the Waldos got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos decided to pluck some of the free bud.
The Waldos were five students from San Rafael High School: Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich. The guys hung out with the band The Grateful Dead, and Reddix ended up as a roadie for them, helping the term catch on in the 1990s amongst that Deadhead circle.
The Waldos, who were all athletes, agreed to meet at the statue of Louis Pasteur outside the school at 4:20 pm, after practice, to begin the hunt.
Despite numerous searches, they never found the patch, but the number 420 became a useful code for them to communicate with each other; they would say “420” to each other during the school day as the code to meet for a smoke.
“We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet at 4:20.”
How the Grateful Dead Spread the Origin of 420 Globally
The legend continues that on Dec. 28, 1990, Deadheads in Oakland handed out flyers at a Grateful Dead show in Oakland, CA, inviting people to smoke “420” on April 20 at 4:20 pm. One of these flyers landed in the hands of Steve Bloom, a former reporter for High Times magazine. The publication published the flyer in 1991 and continued to reference the number, and before long, those digits became known globally for their association with marijuana.
As no story has been found that predates 1971, the “Waldos” have officially been recognized as the “inventors” of 420. The guys still live in Northern California, in Marin County and Sonoma County, and are still good friends.
Frequently Asked Questions: The Origin of 420
Where did 420 originate?
420 originated in San Rafael, California, in the fall of 1971. Five high school students known as the Waldos — Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich — used “420” as a code to meet after school at 4:20 pm to search for an abandoned marijuana plot near the Point Reyes Peninsula.
Was 420 ever a police code for marijuana?
No. This is one of the most persistent myths surrounding the origin of 420. California’s Penal Code 420 addresses obstructing entry onto public land. No U.S. state uses 420 as a police code for marijuana-related offenses.
Who invented 420?
The Waldos — five students from San Rafael High School in California — are widely recognized as the inventors of 420. Their use of the term as a meeting code in 1971 predates all other known references, and no earlier origin story has ever been documented.
How did 420 become a global phenomenon?
The term spread largely through the Grateful Dead’s fan community. Dave Reddix, one of the original Waldos, became a roadie for the band. In December 1990, Deadheads distributed flyers at an Oakland show inviting people to smoke “420” on April 20. High Times magazine published the flyer in 1991, and the term entered mainstream culture from there.
Is April 20 related to Bob Marley or Hitler?
Neither connection has anything to do with the origin of 420. Bob Marley was not born on April 20 and did not die on that date. While Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, this has no bearing on cannabis culture — references to 420 predate any such association by decades.
