• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

Roll up: Weed Day explained

Towleroad April 20, 2022 Leave a Comment

Published by
AFP
Marijuana is seen at the Sneaker Headz cannabis store April 15, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Los Angeles (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Americans will gather in parks and city plazas under a fog of marijuana smoke on Wednesday to celebrate a drug that remains illegal in much of the country.

April 20th has become synonymous with pot, a day when THC-infused clouds drift, people play bongos, and everyone feels a bit of love for each other.

But why did 4/20 become so important?

What is 4/20?

Basically a day that celebrates all things Mary Jane.

In more than a dozen US states where weed is legal, big rallies will take place in public spaces, with participants lighting up everything from regular spliffs to bongs to joints the size of a baby's arm. If you can imagine it, there's someone smoking it.

Outside of the big gatherings, smaller groups of people will get together to indulge in a collective toke.

Aficionados insist these more intimate smoke-ins are more in keeping with the origins of 4/20, which began as something off-the-grid but has grown into full-size festivals, complete with sponsors and the option of purchasing VIP tickets. 

Why April 20th?

In the US system of dates, April 20 is 4/20, and the day-long celebration of reefer seems to have metamorphosed from the number.

There are a few competing theories where the number came from, and none of them is commonly accepted.

One holds that 420 is the number of chemicals in marijuana, though this seems to be an undershoot (it's closer to 500, according to Vox), or an overshoot (“scientists have successfully isolated 113 discrete cannabinoids,” weed bible High Times reported.)

Another theory has it that 420 is the California penal code for possession of the drug (it's not; Penal Code 420 explains that it's a misdemeanor to prevent access to public lands in the state, according to findlaw.com, a website for legal professionals).

Many suggestions involve well-known pot heads The Grateful Dead in some way, and include the claim that 420 was the favored hotel room number on their psychedelic tours. Was it implausible for all six musicians (plus hangers-on) to be in the same room? Yes, and a band spokesman is widely quoted as saying it's not true.

Nor is 4/20 the date that Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, or Janis Joplin died. While they all passed at age 27, their deaths were in July, September and October, respectively. 

One of the more satisfying theories about 4/20 is that 4:20pm was the time that a group of stoners in 1970s California would gather to get high. The Waldos describe themselves as “a group of five wisecracking friends…who originated the term ‘420' in 1971 at San Rafael High School.”

Their website offers what they say is proof of the term being used as code for these gatherings and the act of smoking, in the form of letters exchanged after they left school.

Whatever the truth, the term has entered the lexicon — the Oxford English Dictionary acknowledges that it is “North American slang” for marijuana, while the Encyclopaedia Britannica, no less, notes the expression is “in current use” (and also gives us “hippie lettuce” as an alternative term for the drug).

Topics: Aaon, Art More Posts About: Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, weed

Related Posts
  • Demi Lovato Openly Posts Video Smoking Weed Amid Ongoing Recovery From Substance Addiction
  • Fifty Years Ago, Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Anthem Expressed the Hopes and Fears of a Nation
  • Nancy Pelosi To Obama: Stop Messing With Medical Marijuana (Video)
  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Mel B will “always be open” when it comes to her sexuality. The Spice Girls singer, 48, who reunited with her bandmates including the group's ex-singer Victoria Beckham for the fashion …Read More »
  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Megan Thee Stallion is being sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment and forcing her cameraman to watch her having lesbian sex. The 29-year-old ‘Savage' rapper faces the salacious claims …Read More »
  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Bennett's life was “changed forever” by his role in ‘Mean Girls'. The 42-year-old actor starred as heartthrob Aaron Samuels in the 2004 cult classic – which followed Lindsay Lohan, Rachel …Read More »
  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass a gift basket after he came out as gay. The 44-year-old NSYNC star revealed the legendary singer showed his support when Lance decided to reveal …Read More »
Previous Post: « America’s weed legalization: five things to know
Next Post: Ezra Miller arrested again »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

    Sophia Bush’s girlfriend ‘proud’ the actress has opened up about coming out as queer

  • Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

    Mel B declares she’ll ‘always be open’ when it comes to her sexuality!

  • Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

    Megan Thee Stallion being sued for ‘forcing cameraman watch her having lesbian sex!’

  • Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

    Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett recalls the moment his life ‘changed forever’

  • Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

    Sir Elton John sent Lance Bass gift basket to celebrate coming out

  • Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

    Relationship status influences heterosexual women’s sexual prejudice towards lesbians

  • JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

    JoJo Siwa had a challenge transitioning to new grown-up image

  • Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

    Liz Hurley defends lesbian sex scene in new movie that was directed by her son

Partner Links

  • Immorality And More
    Open thread below... read more
  • Randy Rainbow visits with Kelly Clarkson
    “She wanted to raise the gayest kid on Long Island!” Comedian […]
  • Song of the Day: 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' by Saint Etienne
    Today marks exactly 35 years since the release of Saint Etienne's […]
  • Baldwin Isn't Fire, But She'll Keep A Simmering Heat On RFK Jr.
    Earlier this month, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin confronted RFK, Jr, about […]
  • Remains of the Day (05/28)
    Out: Benito Skinner teases "Overcompensating" season 2 storylinesCBS News: Infant fatally […]

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Ptown Hacks 2018

Read

  • Travel
  • Film
  • Law – LGBT Rights
  • Columns
  • Specials

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Log in

×
×