Bro, bro, bro...seriously...It's 4/20 All Day.

And a very happy 4/20 to all of you, indeed. For those of you who are out-of-the-know (or too "square") to know what we are talking about, today is the day when stoners of the world unite to celebrate the unofficial marijuana holiday. Urban myths abound about why marijuana smokers refer to 4:20 as the international pot-smoking hour. Some believe the number relates to the California police code for a marijuana bust; others say it is the California penal code for a marijuana-related offense; some proffer that it bears a relationship to the day Jim Morrison died; while others simply believe that 420 represents the number of chemicals in marijuana (though we are pretty sure THC is the important one).

All of these explanations are totally schwag, however. When discussing California penal code, a 420 is indicative of obstructing entry on public land. We have not found a police radio code of 420 in California that represents a marijuana bust. We all know The Lizard King died in July. And, there are 315 chemicals in pot. So where does that leave us?

Although the term does originate from that bastion of all things trendy, California, the term apparently began in 1971 at San Rafael High School. A group of stoners used the term as covert lingo to represent meeting up outside of class to get high and all other things stoney. Now, thanks to ~~Dead Heads~~ ~~Phishheads~~ String Cheese Incident ~~losers~~ fans everywhere, and gift shops with questionable taste, it is the ubiquitous symbol for the time to get high.

So, smoke em if you got em, Austin. And if you're wanting to quit the hippie lettuce and have no willpower whatsoever, click here to find out how to get help…then send us all of your weed. Cause our "intern" loves to get nice.

By the way, 4/20 is also Adolf Hitler's birthday. Total Buzzkill.
Get all your 4:20 factoids, myth-debunkers here.

If you're looking to get your 420 musical fix, might we suggest one of the following two activities tonight, should you happen to get off the couch.

4:20 Party w/ the Righteous Tidings, Strawberry HoCake @ Ararat (7:30pm)
About: Blank @ The Velvet Spade (10pm)

*Image of Match Striker (c) the Vaporizer*

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By matthewodam in Other on April 20, 2006 8:39 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Caty Tota

You guys are the 28640 best, thanks so much for the help.

anon

I understand its acceptance into the pot smoking world, but the fact that the first time LSD was ingested was at 4:20 in 1948 has some merit to it as well.

sean

Wikipedia also has a suprisingly comprehensive entry on bongs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bong

omit

Wikipedia has the accepted origin: " * Snopes.com, High Times magazine, The Marijuana-Logues, and The Straight Dope claim that in the early 1970s, a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California used to meet every day after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana at the water tower. One piece of evidence supporting an origin of the term from the time 4:20 is the fact that the number is always said "four twenty" and not "four hundred twenty." This theory is also the most cited, and the most widely-accepted."

Ian

Tonight at Velvet Spade, there's no Topaz, but there is another 420-worthy band called About:Blank.

#1 fan

C-tez!! What a fox!

anon

Actually, 4:20 is a reference to LSD originally( I may be mistaken, but don't think so). That time was the exact time that LSD was ever ingested on purpose and it came to be the time associated with when to "drop" in the 60's prior to an evening concert.

See - stoners are even too lazy to come up with their own little catch phrases.