The Real Story of 420 14
The Chronic Spot is a feature where i will be posting news relating to cannabis culture. If you have a News article you feel should be included, hit me up at neo@lonelystoner.net
There have been many attempts to try and decipher the origin of the term 420. Some say it was the time when a group of friends would meet after school for their daily joint, some say it was a police code for marijuana smoking in progress, and some say it was the number of chemicals in marijuana. The list goes on…
Regardless of the story you’ve heard, there’s no doubting the impact that 420 has had on popular culture. From April 20th being the unofficial ‘official’ stoner day around the world to hip hop artists referencing it in their work (Method Man – 4:21… The Day After).
Now I’m all for having a universal ‘code’ for all things stoner related but having an official day and time? I mean,who needs to have an official day or time to get stoned? If you wanna get stoned, then get stoned, regardless of the time of day or the date. I’m pretty sure Snoop Dogg doesn’t wait ’til 4:20 in order to light up and I’m pretty sure legendary stoners Cheech & Chong were getting high way before 420 even existed.
Nowadays, people, especially kids, seem to have put so much emphasis on this whole 420 thing that the novelty of the whole thing has worn off. Now, anybody will drop a 420 reference when discussing marijuana in an effort to sound cool or hip. The fact of the matter is, most stoners, don’t reference 420 and if they do, it is likely to be on 4/20 as a celebration of the cannabis culture.
So, to all those stoners who get high at a pre-arranged time and date, WTF!! If you wanna get high, GET HIGH!! Stop putting so much emphasis on this 420 thing. Stop trying to be a ‘cool’ stoner. Just be a regular one.
Anyway, checkout this article which gets to the bottom of the origin of the term 420.
4/20, or mid to end of April is also the time of year where plants are usually started indoors, in colder climates, or seed starts are planted outdoors. Usually a celebration follows for the beginning of another great crop to come.
I wrote an article this morning that linked to the Huffington Post article as well. I don’t think it matters so much of the origin as it does with what we do with 420 now that we have it. We should be using it to rally ourselves and others to the cause. Have a look at my article about 420 and using it to promote the legalization movement.
http://brokenspectrum.com/2009/10/06/the-origin-and-promotion-of-420/
Many stoners enjoy and look forward to 4:20. It’s nice to know that many others around the world are enjoying a toke with you, and in some ways helps to regulate how much you toke to save on your stash. Your article really makes you come off as a douchebag. A very ill-informed douchebag. Stop writing about weed.
@Stephen: I agree that we should embrace the 420 movement.
But when people drop a 420 here and a 420 there, it’s losing it’s charm. The novelty is wearing off
@John: “Many stoners enjoy and look forward to 4:20. It’s nice to know that many others around the world are enjoying a toke with you“.
Really, it would be damn hard for everyone to smoke at the same time seen as we all live in different time-zones! Whose the douche now, douche!
4 and 20 backbirds baked in a pie…
I get that it seems to personally bother you when people drop a 420 reference, but I think it’s a stretch to say “the novelty is wearing off”. Also, I’ve been in the company of stoners for years and not one of them has ever waited until 4:20 to light up, you don’t really think that’s what people do — do you? You think they wait all day until 4:20pm to rip a bowl? Haha….sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at you but that’s the silliest thing I’ve heard all year.
@kadinsky: No I don’t think that people wait ’til 4:20 to smoke. But I do know of a lot of people who get giddy when 4:20 rolls around.
Also, the 4:20 time thing is one of the original theories about how it originated. In fact, that is how it originated!
Yeah man stop tryin to make 420 uncool you asshole i look foward to the day 420….its a day to go all out with the weed ya know try to smoke a half ounce or an ounce in a day or bake some cookies, brownies etc….whatever floats your boats……or tokes your smokes…..
@Anonymous Smoker: Yeah 420 THE DAY I have no qualms with. I celebrate every year. But when there’s a 420 thrown in here, a 420 thrown in there, that’s when the novelty of it starts wearing off.
I do agree though – whatever floats your boats……or tokes your smokes…..
I totally agree with you lonely…April 20th aside…Overuse of the 420 term can become quite annoying. I know a lot of people who get excited as 4:20am/pm approaches which has never really made any sense to me…because really …is there really ever a bad time to light up?
And to everyone who is calling you a Douche for this article…Have you guys forgotten that this is a blog, and no one is forcing you to read what is here, and/or agree with it…How about you all turn down the suck so, that the rest of us can enjoy our buzz…Thanks
@Diego: Thanks Diego. At least somebody can feel where I’m coming from
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Just passing by. Original article and comments followed after from loney and diego made me smile a bit inside as I regained assurance that there is intelligent life out there. The shark contrast of difference from the comments made by John, and kadinsky, highlight how rare it is to find these days.