So where did 420 originate? According to Steven Hager, editor of High Times magazine, a marijuana magazine distributed worldwide, the term originated at a California high school in 1971 by a group of students.
The group, calling themselves “The Waldos,” met at the San Rafael High School statue of Louis Pasteur everyday at 4:20 p.m. in order to smoke marijuana.
According to Hager’s article, “One day, while (the Waldos) were sitting on the wall, a friend gave them a treasure map to a pot patch on nearby Point Reyes Peninsula. ‘His brother grew the patch,’ said Steve (one of the Waldos).” The Waldos decided to meet after school and pick the patch.
Since school got out at 3:10, and since some of the Waldos had after-school activities that lasted approximately an hour, someone decided they should meet at exactly 4:20 p.m., at the statue of Louis Pasteur, which was located near the entrance to the school parking lot.
From then on, 4:20 became synonymous with marijuana to the group, as they soon found out that they could talk about 4:20 in front of their parents without letting on that they were actually talking about pot.
The Waldos told High Times that they were huge Grateful Dead fans, and assumed that after the term spread throughout the “dead-head” community, other marijuana users just picked it up.
Google ftw.
