parentingteens.about.com/cs/marijuana/a/420meaning.htm
The atmosphere of today may seem a little off today. The air may have a different or stronger scent than normal. The clouds may be hanging a bit lower and the air in front of you may be a little hazy. Well the reason for these changes would be because today is 4/20. Over time this day has become the national smoke weed day. I do not smoke, but it was not until today when I was thinking about what to write about that I became interested in learning about where the term 4/20 originated.
It is common knowledge amongst most people my age that the term 420 is associated with marijuana whether you partake in this activity or not. Today when I was sitting in class and someone made a reference to 420 I started to think where did this come from? Who decided that on 4/20 that would be the national smoke weed day and how did they come up with this day?
Well I did some research and I hope my Mom does not check my browsing history because it would appear to her that I am a “pot head” which is far from the truth. I just am taking interest in history, she should be proud, right?
Well the information I gathered was pretty broad. Some say that 420 originated because that is the day that Bob Marley died when in fact Bob Marley died in May. Others say 420 comes from the code that cops have come up with when communicating amongst themselves that marijuana is present. This is also false because a code 420 has not been coined for all police officers, although some may use it.
What seems to be the origination of the term 420 is that in 1971 a group of highschoolers in California were on a mission to find an abandon cannabis, marijuana, crop. They would meet every day outside their school by a Louis Pasteur statue on campus. They would meet here every day at 4:30 to discuss their plans. It originally started off as “4:20 Louis”, but after their failed attempts to find this abandon crop field it soon turned into just 420. The coined this term and soon realized this was a way to talk about marijuana right in front of their teachers, parents, and anyone else of importance.
Apparently 4:20pm has become a social accepted hour of the day for people to smoke marijuana.
On this day, across the country many gather to celebrate this “holiday”. In San Francisco many gather at the Golden Gate Park. Tallahasse Florida is the number two pot smoking city in the United States.
Every year in Boulder, Colorado a large group at the University of Colorado gathers to consume cannabis. In 2008, 10,000 people attended and in 2009 they well surpassed this mark. This seems like a crazy amount of people. Campus and local police have tried to stop this, but the crowd keeps getting bigger every year.
Although I do not partake in this activity it was interesting to learn the history behind it and the crazy amounts of people that gather to celebrate.
It's just an excuse for young kids to smoke pot!
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