everyone has their different reasons. some people say because its the number of chemicals in pot (even though thats a lie its in the 200s or something im not to sure) or other people because its hitlers birthday. no one really knows, its just a number that happens to be associated with pot!
I also heard that it was the police code for smoking marijuana, or possession, or something like that, but it might be false.
Signal codes aren't the same in different counties/cities. I used to listen to online scanners a lot, and they're all different. See http://www.bearcat1.com/radio.htm
I have heard many stories, but so far the one most logical is that 420 was the time that kids usually would meet after school to smoke.
i heard cause there was a big drug bust at that time. I think involving a couple pounds of MJ and phish. Im not sure though
its hitlers birthday, so i think people just want to get stoned and forget all the bad shit he did. its also national marijuana smoking day (US)
Here's part of an article i found on Hightimes.com.... it dont tell you how it was originated.... but it does put to rest almost all possible rumors that im sure you've heard before 420 "ORIGIIN" CONVERSATIONS Most pot-smokers would probably accept as fact that 420 originated in San Rafael, California with Steve Waldo, who used the expression “420 Louie” in high school. Waldo used it as a secret code to remind friends to meet for smoking sessions at the Louis Pasteur statue, 70 minutes after the 3:10 dismissal. However, whether or not the smokers I talked with actually knew of the veracity of Waldo’s claim, it made little difference in their indifference to determining 420’s true origin. One expressed the typical view: “The actual meaning of 420, or where it came from, seems unimportant to me compared to the feeling of 420. That is the true meaning.” Another was of a similar opinion: “Most people do not desire to know where 420 came from, but rather enjoy it for its cultural importance.” A third explained, after reviewing a number of possible theories: “While some of these reports are more believable than others, they all represent how important the number is to the marijuana community.” Emphasizing the value of learning from talking about 420, a fourth smoker expressed the general point: “I think the most valid meaning of 420 origins is the underlying things you learn.” What fascinated me about origin theories was that while smokers actively discussed and debated them, they didn’t care about determining the ultimate truth. This apparent contradiction made more sense when I realized that the dozens of theories discussed and debated, even though wrong or unprovable, were equivalent to a 101 course in marijuana cultural literacy. It was, as smokers repeatedly told me, more important to discuss and debate than to discover truth, because of the underlying things that you learn. Smokers learned, for example, about taking a defiant attitude toward police enforcement of antimarijuana laws, and about the meaning and importance of people and things such as Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Cheech and Chong, Jamaica, Haight-Ashbury, Amsterdam, and THC. While these 101 lessons are an important part of the socialization of new smokers, origin conversations are important for all smokers. They provide a subject for many deep, philosophical, and scientific conversations. Smokers said that “stoner philosophizing about origins was especially meaningful when sharing a bowl, joint, or bong,” and in effect, was “a learning session.” Exploring but not necessarily proving origin theories provides many important lessons in marijuana culture. In other words, 420 origins serve as a good, celebratory, and often humorous, teacher. The most common origin theory was that 420 is or was a Los Angeles “police code for marijuana-smoking in progress.” Researching the validity of this claim, I called the Los Angeles Police Department and asked if 420 was the “real” police code for marijuana-smoking in progress. The answering officer explained that 420 in the “penal book” referred to “preventing or obstructing entry upon or passage upon public lands.” I then asked what the code would be for marijuana-smoking in progress. He said the California Health and Safety Code for “any narcotic drug” including marijuana is 11350. Steve Waldo, writing in HIGH TIMES (“4:20 & the Grateful Dead,” May ’01 HT), explained further: “Although it has often been rumored, 420 is not a police code for drug-law enforcement in California, and in San Rafael, is part of the state Health and Safety Code, in which all sections have five-and six-digit numbers, sometimes separated by a decimal point. Pot-related activities and violations fall in the middle 11300s.” The police-code origin theory, while false, calls attention to the fact that marijuana is an illegal substance, pointing to a central value difference between what is law and what is valued among marijuana-smokers. To embrace the police code as a smoking symbol is to learn to stand in defiance against laws that make smoking illegal. To call attention to California is to learn about a state that is leader in the fight to legalize the medical use of marijuana. A second origin theory was that 420 references THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) as: “the number of chemicals in THC,” the “number of molecules in marijuana,” or the “number of elements in the marijuana plant.” Skeptical about these biochemistry claims, I solicited evaluation from Peter Webster, review editor of the International Journal of Drug Policy, who responded to my e-mail query as follows: “THC, or the principal active ingredient of cannabis, is a single chemical entity, i.e., one chemical. There are, however, many other closely related but less psychoactive chemicals in cannabis, some of which may be more important in medical applications. Each, however, is a different chemical, since its molecular structure is unique. Again, THC is ONE chemical. Marijuana contains perhaps many thousands of different molecular entities, from the couple of hundred cannabinoids, such as THC, to chlorophyll, fats, fibers such as lignin, cellulose, sugars, enzymes, and a wide range of other organic chemicals, to minerals, water, etc. The number of elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, sodium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, many trace metals, and probably many others in trace amounts… in effect, most elements in the first part of the periodic table!—and probably even some traces of heavy metals, whatever is in the environment in which it grows.” While false again, the THC origin theory aids in learning about the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, which is standard knowledge for any marijuana-smoker. A third set of related theories revolved around Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Smokers claimed, for example, that 420 was the “address of the Grateful Dead’s home at Haight-Ashbury,” that “pot-smoking is almost synonymous with the Grateful Dead,” and that 420 referred to the “exact time of Jerry Garcia’s death.” In researching these claims I found that, according to Rebecca Adams in Deadhead Social Science: “By late 1966, the Dead were headquartered at 710 Ashbury, near its intersection with Haight, the symbolic heart of the hippie community.” And according to the San Francisco Bay City Guide (March 2001): “The Grateful Dead were onetime residents of the Haight (710 Ashbury Street).” Finally, while staying in San Francisco, I took a cab to Haight-Ashbury myself to confirm the 710, not 420, address. In researching the exact time of Jerry Garcia’s death, I found that, according to a People magazine (Aug. 21, 1995) cover story, he died on Wednesday, August 4, 1995 at 4:23 AM exactly. Other newspaper articles similarly reported that Garcia passed away in his bed at Forest Knoll after being found by a nurse who tried to revive him. The time of death again was 4:23 AM. Thus, a third origin theory, while false again, aids in cultivating marijuana-culture literacy through its focus on classic stoner musician Jerry Garcia, stoner band the Grateful Dead, and the quintessential 1960s drug/hippie community, Haight-Ashbury. A fourth set of origin theories revolved around times that are, like the theories above, loaded with marijuana-smoker culture. One explanation was that 420 means teatime in Amsterdam or Holland. Probably, like Britain, the time is closer to 4:30. Another explanation was that Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong, stars of the marijuana cult film Up in Smoke) was born on April 20 at 4:20 AM. In fact, he was born May 24, 1938. Another explanation states that 420 originated from “the date Haile Selassie visited Jamaica for the first time.” The late Ethiopian emperor, venerated by Rastafarians for signifying the rebirth of black rule in Africa, visited Jamaica for three days in April 1966, but he arrived on the 21st. Thus, a fourth set of origin theories aids smokers in learning about the importance of Amsterdam, a city that tolerates “soft drug” use and where marijuana can be smoked freely in coffeeshops; educates them as to a major marijuana cult film and its figures; and reveals the ritualization of ganja by Rastafarians. Smokers also claimed that 420 originated from the first recorded use of marijuana. In researching this claim, I found that 2737 BC is frequently reported in academic texts as the earliest reference to use of marijuana because of its mention in a Chinese treatise by Emperor Shen Nung. However, Erich Goode (in Drugs in American Society, 5th edition, p. 213) tells us that “there is no definite date of the earliest recorded use of marijuana, although descriptions of cannabis use can be found in ancient texts from China, India, Persia, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. For example, marijuana is mentioned as a “healing herb” in The Divine Husbandman’s Materia Medica, circa first or second century AD. In 650 BC, the use of cannabis is mentioned in Persia and Assyria. In 400 BC, the use of cannabis is mentioned in Rome. This time origin theory, while false or unprovable again, serves in learning that marijuana-smoking has a long and deep historical tradition, and thus naturalizes its use for smokers. Drawing more generally upon the illegal drug culture was the theory that 420 originated from the date Albert Hofmann discovered LSD-25. LSD-25 was first synthesized at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland, in 1938. It was reshelved until April 16, 1943, when Hofmann made a “fresh batch,” swallowed 250 micrograms, and experienced the first extremely intense acid trip “for science” (Acid Dreams, Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain: xvii-xviii). This origin theory teaches about Albert Hofmann and LSD, and by doing so asserts the value of using illegal drugs. Perhaps the most creative but dubious time theory was that 420 originated from the position of a “dangling doobie” in the mouth of a Jamaican getting off work. The position of the joint is said to resemble an analog clock at 4:20. A final but certainly not exhaustive explanation is that 420 originated from Adolf Hitler’s birthday. One smoker explained: “Hitler represents in sharp opposite contrast all that the marijuana-smoking community stands for.” This theory, like the theories above, cannot be proven to have any direct reference to 420. And even though Hitler was in fact born on April 20, 1889, there is no evidence that 420 originated from that date. By learning the dangling doobie and Hitler theories, smokers learn about the value of Jamaica and Jamaican weed, and the peaceful, laid-back spirit among smokers. To summarize, by discussing and debating numerous 420 origin theories, marijuana-smokers are able to converse with stories filled with an array of important symbols of pot culture: Jamaica, California, Rastafarians, Cheech and Chong, Haight-Ashbury, the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, hippies, and THC. Through these conversations, smokers also learn many other lessons about the importance of defying laws and legal authorities that prohibit marijuana-smoking: the value and significance of locales where it is legal or at least tolerated; the deep historical tradition of marijuana-smoking; the spiritual justifications for it; and the easy, relaxed attitude of marijuana-smokers. Thus, what is most important is not determining the true origin of 420, but rather engaging in conversations filled with marijuana-smoker lessons. Because these origin theories are either wrong or unprovable, they provide for an ongoing learning conversation. The sociological significance of ongoing conversations—especially if they are rich in memory, tradition, common beliefs, and values—is that they are a basic and necessary means of maintaining any kind of relationship. The value of 420 origin stories is much like that of repeated storytelling in a close-knit family. Stories—whether true, false, or embellished—strengthen the family’s sense of belonging, identity, and values, bringing it closer together. Even if we suspect that Aunt Lucy or Uncle John is not telling the truth, that doesn’t stop us from reveling in their old stories. The retelling of stories itself becomes a cherished ritual, and a means of communicating what is valued and important to the family. This being said, the definitiveness of the Waldo theory is, at best, a mixed blessing to the pot-smoker community.
I remember when I was in school last year, I went "It's national marijuana awareness day" and my teacher was like "good heavens"
