The History of 420
If you ask even the most avid smoker about the origins of their favorite holiday, you will likely get a half-baked answer.
Most people think it's something to do with California kids gathering to smoke after school at 4:20. Some might mention a Bob Dylan song, "Rainy Day Woman No. 12 & 35," where the numbers in the title multiply to 420. The refrain is "everybody must get stoned." Or, the urban legend that the police code for "cannabis smoking in progress" was 420.
The true story that is not as often shared is that the California kids were on a treasure hunt to find an abandoned cannabis plant. They would meet at 4:20 after practice to smoke, explore the forest, and search for the plant. They had somehow received a map and were using it to track it down.
Now, if you are wondering, how did a couple high school kids with a treasure map leading them to an abandoned weed plant create a ubiquitous term in cannabis today? The answer lies, as it usually does, in their personal connections. Multiple members of the group, who referred to themselves as "The Waldos" on account of their search for treasure, had close ties to the Grateful Dead. They would frequently hang out backstage with them, where their slang spread to members of the band and their entourage.
Steve Bloom, the former editor of High Times and chronicler of cannabis popular history, confirms this theory with the memory of the first time he encountered the term–at a Grateful Dead show. He was handed a flier advertising a 4/20 meetup at 4:20 PM in Marin, California. The flier told a brief history of the event, which had already been altered to omit the treasure-hunt story.
While today 420 remains a hallmark of cannabis culture, and the biggest holiday in the industry, the kids never did find their treasure. But maybe the real treasure was their impact on cannabis culture, which we at Farnsworth believe is simply sharing a smooth smoke with likeminded folk.
