The number 420 has come to be associated with the consumption of marijuana but many have no idea when the association was first established.
The sequence is recognized as the stoner number, so much so that 20 April has become World Cannabis Day.
In standard US Date expression 4/20 is the 20th day of April.
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Myths and legends have sprung up around the number such as the suggestion that 420 was a police code for ”Marijuana smoking in progress.”
There is no credible evidence to support that assertion.
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Where does 420 come from?
Others point out that 20 April is the birthdate of Adolf Hitler, but that has sweet blue bugger all to do with marijuana.
The Fuhrer was not fond of the devil’s lettuce, he was probably blitzed on a mixture of cocaine and opiates from 1943, if author Norman Ohler is to be believed. Enough of genocidal maniacs though, let’s get back to 420.
The legend of 420 persists largely because the myths are more attractive than the most credible explanation for the number’s rise to prominence among marijuana smokers.
The true origin of 420 has almost certainly been revealed. The first people to use the number in reference to smoking weed were a group of teenagers from Marin County California, who called themselves the…
