POLITICS
The meaning of 420: What does four-twenty mean, and how is it related to cannabis culture?
It’s 4/20, and we take you through the history of the holiday celebrating marijuana.
For many in the United States, 4/20 has become ubiquitous in cannabis culture. Pop culture references, planned celebrations on the date, and significant changes in public sentiments towards marijuana have made the holiday a much more recognizable occasion for smokers and non-smokers alike.
The origins of the holiday...
In the 1970s, a group of high schoolers in San Rafael, California, coined the term 420 as part of a secret code shared between friends. The origin of 420 begins with these five characters who came into the position of a treasure map to an abandoned cannabis crop. The teenagers, consumers of marijuana, would meet at 4:20 pm to begin their hunt. This story would later be published by High Times, a marijuana center news outlet, where it would be circulated.
Eventually, the time and date, represented as April 20th, would be popularized even further by activists looking to see the drug decriminalized and eventually legalized.
Leave the question to the states, and they answer
Marijuana legalization is an issue where the states have moved a lot faster than the federal government.
Weed is currently legal for medicinal use in 38 states and the District of Colombia and legal for recreational use in 24. At the federal level, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 Drug, the most severe classification that includes other drugs like heroin and methamphetamine.
Pew Research completed a survey in 2022 that found that “an overwhelming share of U.S. adults (88%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults.” Support for medicinal use stood at nearly sixty percent, with only one in ten respondents saying the drug should be illegal altogether.
In Ohio, a poll conducted by Baldwin Wallace University found widespread support for the ballot measure. “Overall, 57 percent of registered voters support the measure — including two-thirds of Democrats and 59 percent of Independents,” reported NORML, the marijuana legalization advocacy group.