Many such events advocate for the liberalization and legalization of cannabis.
International day for cannabis-related protests and events Īpril 20 has become an international counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis. Hager attributed the early spread of the phrase to Grateful Dead followers -after "Waldo" Reddix became a roadie for the Grateful Dead's bassist, Phil Lesh -and called for 4:20 pm to be the socially accepted time of the day to consume cannabis. The first High Times mention of 4:20 smoking and a 4/20 holiday appeared in May 1991, and the connection to the Waldos appeared in December 1998. Steven Hager of High Times popularized the story of the Waldos. After several failed attempts to find the crop, the group eventually shortened their phrase to "4:20", which ultimately evolved into a code-word the teens used to refer to consuming cannabis. The Waldos referred to this plan with the phrase "4:20 Louis". Calling themselves the Waldos, because their typical hang-out spot "was a wall outside the school", the five students-Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich -designated the Louis Pasteur statue on the grounds of San Rafael High School as their meeting place, and 4:20 pm as their meeting time.
In 1971, five high school students in San Rafael, California, used the term "4:20" in connection with a plan to search for an abandoned cannabis crop, based on a treasure map made by the grower. 3.3 Legislation and other government recognition.2 International day for cannabis-related protests and events.