Supposedly "420" was a code used by the San Rafael police department, however, the department has always denied this. A group known as the "Waldos" claim to have originated 420 in San Rafael in 1971. The group met every day at 4:20 PM after school and eventually began to use 420 as a code for marijuana so they could talk about pot in front of parents and teachers.
by Drew April 4, 2004
by Fules January 6, 2006
1. The time to get high as adopted by marijuana culture.
2. A way of mentioning marijuana in the presence of authority figures so as not to get caught.
2. A way of mentioning marijuana in the presence of authority figures so as not to get caught.
Perhaps the most compelling source of 4:20 is the time of day an H.P. Lovecraft character cites for having become sober after succumbing to the intoxication of a "mirage-plant":
"I had encountered at least one of those curious mirage-plants about which so many of our men told stories. Anderson had warned me of them, and described their appearance very closely—the shaggy stalk, the spiky leaves, and the mottled blossoms whose gaseous dream-breeding exhalations penetrate every existing make of mask...Although everything was spinning perilously, I tried to start in the right direction and hack my way ahead. My route must have been far from straight, for it seemed hours before I was free of the mirage-plant's pervasive influence. Gradually the dancing lights began to disappear, and the shimmering spectral scenery began to assume the aspect of solidity. When I did get wholly clear I looked at my watch and was astonished to find that the time was only 4:20. Though eternities had seemed to pass, the whole experience could have consumed little more than a half-hour."
"I had encountered at least one of those curious mirage-plants about which so many of our men told stories. Anderson had warned me of them, and described their appearance very closely—the shaggy stalk, the spiky leaves, and the mottled blossoms whose gaseous dream-breeding exhalations penetrate every existing make of mask...Although everything was spinning perilously, I tried to start in the right direction and hack my way ahead. My route must have been far from straight, for it seemed hours before I was free of the mirage-plant's pervasive influence. Gradually the dancing lights began to disappear, and the shimmering spectral scenery began to assume the aspect of solidity. When I did get wholly clear I looked at my watch and was astonished to find that the time was only 4:20. Though eternities had seemed to pass, the whole experience could have consumed little more than a half-hour."
by brap May 30, 2005
4:20 originated in San Rafael. What happened was, a group of guys who went to San Rafael High School in 1971 would smoke weed at the Louis Pasteur statue at San Rafael High School, and every time they did this they would do it at 4:20 PM. They would later come up with the term "Louis 4:20" to use when on the phone around their parents or near authoritative figures. It would later become a world wide phenomenon (how it did is beyond me) were stoners would smoke up on April 20 (4/20) at 4:20 AM/PM (depends on how early you wake up). Lastly, 4:20 is not a police code for pot or any other drug.
"Dude, let's get blazed at 4:20 AM and PM man!"
"Alright man! Wait. How the fuck are we gonna make up that early?"
"Oh shit. Fuck. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh. Shit. Oh! I got it! I'll set an alarm!"
"Dude, that's some fuckin' Einstein shit right there bro!"
"Alright man! Wait. How the fuck are we gonna make up that early?"
"Oh shit. Fuck. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh. Shit. Oh! I got it! I'll set an alarm!"
"Dude, that's some fuckin' Einstein shit right there bro!"
by dazedandblazed415 December 22, 2008
The universally accepted time to smoke marijuana. Began when a group of high schoolers in the '70s from San Raphael High School in California decided to meet up every day at 4:20 to smoke.
"They had just bough a sack weighing 3.5.
It was 4:19, just about that time. i.e., almost 4:20
They pulled out the binger and I started to drool.
It was the five-foot caustic weapon crystal, too.
I caught the fumes and I lost my mind,
Happens every time that I smoke the kind."
-Wasting Time, by ALO
It was 4:19, just about that time. i.e., almost 4:20
They pulled out the binger and I started to drool.
It was the five-foot caustic weapon crystal, too.
I caught the fumes and I lost my mind,
Happens every time that I smoke the kind."
-Wasting Time, by ALO
by OneTimeOnly January 10, 2007
International Smokers Holiday, celebrated on the fourth month twentieth day on the fourth hour and twentieth minute p.m. (also a minor daily tradition to smoke at 4:20 p.m. tradition started by a group of students in california that used to meet at a certain place at this time after class daily. (normally marijauna), 4:20 was a code word so teachers and administration would not catch on to their activities.
by Thomas Watkins January 24, 2008
by Camdizzle September 30, 2004