Thousands of people gather in London’s Hyde Park, as well as open spaces around the UK and beyond, to honour a day connected with marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how did this day come to be considered as a sort of holy day among marijuana users?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the origins of 420 are still being debated, the most commonly accepted version dates back to the 1970s in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a Hyde Park 420 Facebook event description, “back in 1971, five students from San Rafael High School in California would assemble at 4.20pm \u2014 just after finishing their after-school activities \u2013 beside the school’s monument of Louis Pasteur to toke up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Waldos, as they were affectionately called, created the phrase “420” to describe the act of smoking marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“As word spread, 4.20pm became recognised as the ideal hour for smoking dope, and the number 420 became synonymous with marijuana,” according to the tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“In the halls, we’d remind each other that we were scheduled to meet at 4.20.” Steve Capper, one of the group’s members, told The Huffington Post in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dave Reddix, another member of the band, is reported to have known The Grateful Dead’s bassist. The band is credited with popularising the 20th of April as “weed day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the American calendar, 4\/20 is April 20, putting the month before the day. As a result, April 20 has become a day to celebrate anything marijuana-related.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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