CANNABIS HISTORY
A History of the Cultural Phenomenon by Karla Deel , contributing writer
ll words are made up . Context and a necessity to communicate give words meaning and weight . And boy , did stoner culture find a way to connect when it embraced the phrase 420 ( pronounced four-twenty ). What started as a simple meeting time ( 4:20 p . m .) turned into slang for what occurred during that meeting — surprise , smoking weed — ( 420 ), and for decades wound its way through American counterculture to find an international platform and now , an official entry in the Oxford English Dictionary . But how did 420 come to be ?
Throughout the years , many origin stories have been speculated . Some say Bob Dylan deserves the credit for 420 due to his lyric “ Everybody must get stoned ” from the song “ Rainy Day Women No . 12 & 35 .” Do the math , 12 x 35 = 420 . Others say it is the number of chemical compounds in cannabis . Or even reference Hitler ’ s birthday , April 20th .
Louis Pasteur statue , San Rafael High School ( Sculptor - Beniamino Benvenuto Bufano ( 1898 – 1970 )), credits Wikimedia Commons , public domain .
Truth be told , it ’ s all thanks to five wise-cracking high-school friends from northern California in the 1970s who coined the term 420 to reference the time they ’ d meet up after school to smoke weed . David Reddix , Steve Copper , Larry Schwartz , Jeff Noel , and Mark Garvich , self-described “ Waldos ,” would meet at the Louis Pasteur statue ( photo on left ) at their San Rafael High School at 4:20 p . m . during the 1971 school year just after football practice .
The plot twisted one afternoon when the Waldos were at their usual meeting spot and were approached by a man named Bill McNulty , who disclosed a location where he believed his brother-in-law had planted a crop of weed near Point Reyes National Seashore . It didn ’ t take long for this cannabis-loving crew of teenagers to twist up some joints and head out in bell-bottoms on an adventure in search of the mythical crop . They never found it , but they had what they called many “ Waldo Safaris ” in hot pursuit .
The term “ Waldo ” is a made-up term used to reference odd and eccentric people credited to the late American actor , comedian , and singer Buddy Hackett . Code words were a necessity for the Waldos in the 1970s . Not only due to consequences of getting caught with an illegal stash , but Waldo Noel ’ s father was a top narcotics officer in California .
The Waldos keep various objects such as letters , notes , high school newspapers , and photos in a bank vault as proof to authenticate that they , indeed , originated the term 420 . Ironically , the bank is located at 420 Montgomery Street and is where you ’ ll find the first printed reference of 420 from a 1974 high school newspaper . A Waldo was asked by a member of the high school newspaper staff what he would say if he could say anything in front of their graduating class . His response ? “ 420 .” Again , in 1975 , in a private letter exchanged between two Waldos , a hand-written note said , “ a little 420 enclosed for your weekend .”
The phrase found its way to the limelight after the Waldos began spending time backstage at Grateful Dead shows . The band helped catapult the phrase 420 to international fame when they began printing it on show flyers . April 20th is now an international holiday for cannabis lovers , with celebrations worldwide from rallies in Denver and San Francisco to festivals in Glasgow and Amsterdam .
One thing is for sure : the use of the term 420 bloomed into a beloved mantra giving voice and uniting a generation of pot-loving folks . We ’ re just the lucky ones who get to reap the benefits .
Happy 420 , y ’ all .
Happy
420
Karla Deel is the Flora Farms Marketing Director , a writer , poet , and researcher , with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Media Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City . She ’ s published a book titled “ Storied & Scandalous Kansas City , a History of Corruption Mischief and a Whole Lot of Booze .” Deel also serves on the Jackson County Historical Society board , works in communications for the Friends of the Kansas City Public Library , and volunteers for several local nonprofits . Visit Karla at
www . KarlaDeel . com .
12 April 2022