What's the History of 420?

by Jeff Eckenrode, COO and Christine Bryant Darling, marketing director

Finding 4/20: A historical primer from the 1970s to today

It’s 2024, and the cat is out of the bag: 420 is the code-word for cannabis consumption and a rally flag for marijuana legalization throughout the world.

But how did a number as peculiar as 420 become associated with marijuana to begin with? Depending on who you ask, you’ll get a wide variety of answers.

Regardless of who coined the term, the team from Hashtag is celebrating on Saturday, April 20 with storewide sales at each of our three locations!

References vary to 420’s history

1970s

In 1971, five California high schoolers who called themselves The Waldos were hunting for some abandoned cannabis plants. They met to plot their search at a designated spot, the Louis Pasteur statue at San Rafael High School.

The time they chose to meet? You could probably guess: 4:20 p.m. They referred to this plan as “4:20 Louis” and, after several failed attempts to find the crop, the phrase was shortened to 4:20, which they ultimately used as a code-word for cannabis use.

1980s

Several of The Waldos had connections to the Grateful Dead: one member’s father managed the band’s real estate; another Waldo’s brother was friends with Dead bassist Phil Lesh and managed a Dead sideband. On tour, cannabis consumption was common.

But due to its illegal nature, codewords were used to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. When joints were passed backstage, the phrase “Hey, 420!” was often heard. The term spread with the band as they toured the country.

But how did 420 gain global recognition as the ultimate cannabis code-word?

1990s

In December 1990, High Times reporter Steven Bloom was wandering through a gathering of hippies before a Grateful Dead concert in Oakland. He was handed a yellow flyer, which read: “We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais.”

Until that time, Bloom had never heard the term “420” or “420-ing” before, but wrote about it in the May 1991 issue.

From there, the term 420 took off and became the international sensation it is today.

So what’s the significance of 420 today?

Since Bloom’s High Times article hit the magazine racks in 1991, April 20 has become an international counterculture holiday. People around the world gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.

In 2017, journalist Phoebe Judge investigated the term’s origins further, after 420 was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.