Happy 4/20 Everyone!
Happy 4/20! How a group of teens getting high spawned a global cannabis-lovers event
Popular lore ties the birth of "4/20" to a group of high schoolers attending Northern California's San Rafael High School in the early 1970s. The cohort which dubbed itself the "Waldos" used to gather at 4:20 pm to toke up.
“We weren’t stupid stoners,” Steve Capper, 68, an original Waldo said, pointing to a certificate for exceptional achievement and citizenship he received in school.. The point being, the Waldos engaged in after-school activities like sports and studying, so 4:20 was chosen as the time the group could all meet up.
Who was the messenger? None other than The Grateful Dead.
Dave Reddix, a member of the "Waldos," told TIME Magazine in 2017 that the band helped popularize the term during his tenure working as a roadie for bassist Phil Lesh. TIME reports that during a December show in 1990 some Deadheads in Oakland distributed flyers inviting people to smoke “420” at 4:20 p.m. on April 20.
Though other theories exist about the origins of 4/20, including references to a California police code and a Bob Dylan song, the Waldos have remained adamant that they are the true architects of the holiday. Reddix and Capper both shrugged off competing theories, saying no other group has presented evidence that was verified by a legitimate source. "Every year more and more people start claiming 4/20 as their own," Reddix joked.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/04/19/420-meaning-weed-association/11689472002/
Comments
Post a Comment