Today is 4/20 — What does 4/20 mean?

Today is 4/20, and the perfect excuse (for those who need one) to blaze up in honour of the only official worldwide celebration of marijuana.

But before that, where did the term 4/20 actually come from? what does it mean? And why do we celebrate it? And what do these specific numbers have to do with weed?

People think 4/20 refers to a secret police code

This is EXACTLY what I always thought 4/20 referred to, and it seems to be what most cannabis fans believe when it comes to the day.

And many people claim that 420 is the radio code used by police to describe catching anyone smoking weed. And so, weed-smokers took over the code for their own reference and made 4/20 their special weed-smoking day.

But actually, the 420 code is actually used for homicide. Dark.

People also think 420 is the number of chemical compounds in cannabis

This is of course not true.

There are also theories that 420 comes from a Bob Dylan song

Yep, some geniuses have noted that 12 x 35 equals 420. And 12 and 35 happen to be the numbers referenced in Bob Dylan’s song ‘Rainy Day Women #12 & 35’. Bob Dylan also chants ‘everybody must get stoned!’ in the song, which adds to this theory’s power.

Here’s the truth (as far as we know): 4/20 is all down to a group of students

This, according to the internet, is the most credible story out there on the origins of 4/20 – as told in its entirety to the Huffington Post.

Back in 1971, five students at San Rafael High School in California would meet at 4.20pm – right after doing their after-school sports – by the school’s statue of Louis Pasteur to toke up.

It became a tradition, and the group, who called themselves The Waldos, began using 420 as a shorthand for smoking weed.

This spread, 4.20pm became known as the perfect time for smoking weed, and the number 420 became synonymous with marijuana. Whoa.

So How do you celebrate 4/20?

Simple. Smoke some weed on April 20 at 4.20pm. You can also just smoke weed (as long as you’re living somewhere where it’s legal, obviously) at 4.20pm on any other day.