Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash
In 1971, five high school students in San Rafael, CA collectively decided that 4:20 p.m. was the perfect time to meet up to get high. (Sounds like a teenage version of the adult after-work beer.) The fivesome also gave themselves a nickname: the Waldos, because they met at a certain wall to puff away. And at that place and time, they would consume their cannabis. How does this minor event turn into a global holiday for cannabis lovers? Well, have you heard of the legendary rock band called The Grateful Dead?
If you haven’t, you are missing out on some of the finest “Americana” cultures, so we urge (order) you to tap this Grateful Dead link and listen to some Grateful Dead music. Your inner hippie will thank you! Remember, fifty years ago, cannabis was completely illegal and code words were needed. When one of the Waldos worked as a roadie with the band, the 420 references became incorporated into the Grateful Dead universe. In a springtime comparison, the Grateful Dead and their followers were like the bees spreading the pot code lingo in pollination fashion across the U.S. and the globe.
Now every April 20 (420) is the global day for cannabis lovers to celebrate and dispensaries have GREAT discounts!
