The Shocking Origin of 4/20: The Stoner’s New Year

Alas, those shroom-fueled festivities are still a couple seasons away. Thankfully, our psychedelic cousins in counterculture — los primos de marijuana — are celebrating a legendary annual “holiday” for all things cannabis. And everyone is welcome to join in the fun! Today, weed enthusiasts from all corners of the world shall be rolling a fat joint in honour of 420, aka the “Stoner’s New Year”…

What is 420?

This year’s 420 celebration comes right at the heels of Easter, the perfect time to hunt for psychic easter eggs. As for the name of the holiday itself? 420 is in reference to the date of the occasion that takes place each year on April 20th. The annual event serves a dual purpose. The first being that of a 24-hour long toast to cannabis, while at the same time lobbying for it to be legalised in places where it’s still banned.

But for the majority of the doobie-toting crowd, 420 is not defined by lively protests on the streets. Nor do they really have to, anyway, since marijuana has been legal in most of the U.S. since 2012. Instead, cannabis-lovers see 420 as the day to have some serious fun. To break free from the shackles of mainstream rules (which suck hard, maaan!). And to get kushy by altering your usual state of mind. Simply put, 420 is their God-given doobie to chill out and smoke a ton of weed!

The Origin of 420

You probably already knew what 420 refers to, thanks to all the dank memes that go viral at this time of year. But chances are, you don’t actually have a clue where the catchphrase came from. Which, by the way, is pronounced “four-twenty” and not “four hundred and twenty”

The term 420 first became popular in the 1970s (yes, that far back!) with pot dealers and users saying it to each other as an inside joke. An open secret that no one’s really sure what it means, from a word-choice point of view. For all intents and purposes, the memetic use of 420 as a phrase evolved to become a legit urban myth. 

Attorney Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML), told sfgate.com about 420’s lasting contribution to counterculture:

“It has become a giant urban myth and it’s a lot of fun. Folks who smoke [weed] have a lot of fun with this code word, and the rest of the country doesn’t know what the hell we’re talking about.”

Some theories suggest that 420 is code among cops for “active marijuana use nearby”. Others say that 420 is the best day to get high because it’s also Adolf Hitler’s birthday (heil = high. Get it?). Either way, these theories and many others are blazingly false. 

The real designers of the now-classic catchphrase are not the CIA, nor any other shadow government task force. Believe it or not, the most credible sources point toward five Californian high school students in the 1970s. 

Behold the founding fathers of 420: Steve Capper, Mark Gravich, Jeffrey Noel, Dave Reddix, and Larry Schwartz.

Where’s Waldos?

In 1971, these five students from San Rafael High School were nicknamed the “Waldos” by their peers, because of their habit of smoking pot against a wall. To add an extra layer of teacher-camouflage, the Waldos held their marijuana sessions behind a large statue of 19th century scientist Louis Pasteur.

So! How did this ragtag group of weed-seekers manage to sneak around so effortlessly in the rule-bound halls of high school? At a period when using cannabis (or any psychedelic substance really) was, well, against the rules?

For the Waldos it was as easy as rolling a joint. With the help of a secret code, the five young men would “bump” into each other in the hallways, and decide to slack off and smoke pot. Sure, people overheard, but did they understand?

“420 Louis.”

“Aight, dude. 420!”

The Waldos would then gather at 4:20 PM behind the statue of Old Louis Pasteur to smoke marijuana. Their teachers were none the wiser.

Memories of Mischief

Decades later, “Waldo” Steve Capper would recount their danger days with fondness to The Huffington Post:

“I could say to one of my friends, I’d go, ‘420’ and it was telepathic. He would know if I was saying, ‘Hey, do you wanna go smoke some?’ Or, ‘Do you have any?’ Or, ‘Are you stoned right now?’ It was kind of telepathic just from the way you said it.

“Our teachers didn’t know what we were talking about. Our parents didn’t know what we were talking about.”

Spotting one Waldo from a tricked-out wall is hard enough as it is. Can you imagine catching five Waldos? The school authorities were in the weeds for years. The whole shebang was a point of high honour (wink, wink) for the group, as Waldo Steve said:

“We have proof, we were the first. I mean, it’s not like we wrote a book or invented anything. We just came up with a phrase. But it’s kind of an honour that this emanated from San Rafael.”

Waldo Dreams of Doobie

In an interview with Time magazine, “Waldo” Dave Reddix revealed that cannabis helped them deal with feelings of alienation in high school:

“We got tired of the Friday night football scene with all the jocks. We were the guys sitting under the stands smoking a doobie, wondering what we were doing there.”

The Waldos then heard a rumour about an abandoned cannabis crop, unkempt yet still alive, close to Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard Station. But despite numerous “heists” to find this El Dorado, the group never came across it.

Soon their secret code leaked in San Rafael and began to spread beyond the school, with the generous help of rock band The Grateful Dead and their legion of weed-lovin’ fans. The years came and went. And after seeing 420 take root in the American consciousness and be used by money-making ads, the Waldos decided to settle the score once and for all. They called High Times editor Steven Hager and showed him a bunch of well-preserved letters postmarked from the 70s — chock-full of snickering mentions of 420. 

The mystery was now solved.

Marijuana and the Mystical Experience

One thing that unites cannabis with psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, is the ability to ease symptoms of severe anxiety. But, few people know what happens if you take weed together with magic mushrooms and magic truffles, or any other psychedelics.

To answer this question, researchers from Imperial College London surveyed 321 people online, who had used cannabis at the same time as psilocybin, LSD, DMT, ayahuasca, or mescaline. 

The results were incredible. Marijuana acts as a “booster” that intensifies the unique psychedelic trip of each substance!

“[Mixing marijuana with psychedelics was] associated with higher scores of mystical-type experiences, ego-dissolution, and visual alterations.”

Basically, the more cannabis a person said they used at the same time, the more intense the psychedelic effect of psilocybin, LSD, etc, will be!

“…some individuals may use cannabis in an attempt to alter effects or experiences [triggered] by the psychedelic, in the same way that some cannabis users report using cannabis to ‘self-medicate’ for psychiatric symptoms.”

A Mellow High

It’s worth noting, though, that when taken on its own, a full-on dose of cannabis only produces a mellow high, or at most a feeling of oceanic boundlessness. Marijuana-induced highs are seldom reliable or strong enough to cause a breakdown of the ego, which is a hallmark of classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD.

There’s a reason why the stoner archetype is characterised by their relaxed, chilled-out persona, with a tendency to “hang loose” via creative daydreaming. In contrast, there is a growing number of people who microdose truffles to help power through a busy workday.

Of course, these are just pop culture stereotypes. The real effects of recreational drugs will always vary depending on the person who takes them! 

Shrooms: A Dope Alternative to Cannabis?

Recent data from the Global Drug Survey have shown that magic mushrooms are the safest recreational drug to take. Safer than LSD, ayahuasca, or even cannabis by a slight margin. 

Based on the reported drug habits of over 120,000 users in 50 countries, only 0.2 percent of shroom and magic truffle users had to go to hospital. Marijuana users, on the other hand, had 0.6 percent who had to seek medical attention.

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in shrooms and magic truffles, has no lethal dose, as reported in The Guardian. This is why tech geniuses in Silicon Valley, and now working class folks like us, have been taking small doses (aka “microdoses”) of psilocybin to be more productive at work. New research has also shown that psilocybin can help erase the symptoms of depression for at least a year, without the risk of addictive side effects as mainstream antidepressants.

To compare, recreational marijuana has been legalised in 18 states and Washington, DC, for adults over the age of 21. Then there’s 38 states and DC which have legalised medical marijuana. Though not as viscerally trippy as shrooms, cannabis is still calming and harmless for the most part. It’s the lab-made sort that’s causing trouble these days…

A substance known as synthetic marijuana (aka “spice”) ranked as the second most dangerous drug in the survey, right after methamphetamine in terms of ambulance rides to the ER. 

Indeed, we wholeheartedly support the cannabis campaign towards full legalisation (as they do ours). But it’s still a good idea to do your own research about recreational drugs. Always buy your treats from safe and reputable sources!

Happy 420, Psychonauts!

There you have it! 

The shockingly wholesome story of how 420 came to be. Who would’ve thought the iconic catchphrase had its start as a secret code between bored schoolboys? Indeed, their sneaky legend will live on. Like the urban myth of 420, the psychedelic renaissance continues to spread far and wide. Gone are the days when magic mushrooms and cannabis could only be enjoyed in secret. From young adults finally finding relief from social anxiety… To clever parents microdosing their path to career success, and more. So! Here’s to all the shroom-lovers and the kushy marijuana devotees. Keep the magic blazing, and have a HAPPY 420!!