It’s one of the most important holidays of the year for cannabis smokers, but what is the “secret” meaning of why people celebrate it on April 20 each year and what strange connection does this holiday have with Adolf Hitler?
April 20, or 420 as it is known, is a day when millions of marijuana smokers gather to commemorate an unofficial holiday dedicated to marijuana.
Marijuana users in 38 US states can enjoy the day legally, while in other states and here in the UK drug users will participate in the holiday illegally.
London’s Hyde Park has become a popular destination for 420 people as thousands of smokers descend on the royal park to light up a joint, often in full view of police.
The origin of the popular tradition is somewhat shrouded in mystery and today many myths arise about its origin.
There are many stories behind the meaning of the number in stoner culture, but the most common is that 4:20 pm is touted as the best time of day to start smoking the narcotic.
London’s Hyde Park has become a popular destination for 420 people as thousands of smokers descend on them to light up a joint, often in full view of police.
Cannabis users gather in large numbers in Hyde Park to take part in the 420-day demonstration
According TIME MagazineOne of the most concrete theories about the roots of what became 420 was started by a group of students in California in the 1960s.
The students, Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz and Mark Gravich, gathered next to the school’s statue of chemist Louis Pasteur to smoke.
They will meet at the meeting point at 4:20 p.m. But the moment didn’t have any significant meaning, it was just the moment when their extracurricular activities ended.
As marijuana was still illegal in California in the 1960s, the group, which became known as the ‘Waldos’, soon began using 420 as a secret code for smoking.
Now it is generally considered that 4:20 p.m. is the best time of day to start smoking the narcotic.
Other theories about the origin of the holiday are also related to California. Some people believe that 420 was a police code in the US state for marijuana.
A cannabis smoker at the meeting in Hyde Park, London, this afternoon
Perhaps the wildest theory involves Adolf Hitler, whose birthday coincides with the holiday, but this is almost certainly a coincidence.
According the daily starOthers think it is the amount of active chemicals in the drug.
Another theory revolves around the song Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35 by Bob Dylan, since the number 12 multiplied by 35 equals 420.
Dylan was known to enjoy smoking marijuana in the 1960s and is widely believed to have been the first person to drug his fellow rock and roll legends, the Beatles, when they met in New York in 1964.
Perhaps the wildest theory involves Adolf Hitler, whose birthday coincides with the holiday, but this is almost certainly a coincidence.
Wherever 420 came from and more than a million smokers celebrated the occasion, both legally and illegally, the countercultural holiday appears to be here to stay.