A Simple Explanation of How 420 Became Code for Marijuana https://mic.com/articles/88009/a-simple-explanation-of-how-420-became-code-for-marijuana#.fyb4US7Vh So what's the real story behind 420? Although it's nearly impossible to confirm, most agree that the number first attached itself to marijuana at a California high school around 1971. According to one story, a group of five teenagers at San Rafael High School who called themselves "the Waldos," (because they always hung out by a wall) found a hand-drawn map that supposedly led to a massive marijuana crop at Point Reyes, northwest of San Francisco. The Waldos agreed to meet by their school's statue of Louis Pasteur around 4:20 p.m. and try to find the crop (the phrase was originally 420-Louis, in reference to the statue, but the second part was eventually dropped). The five Waldos never had any luck with the map or the crop, but every adventure started with a smoke session before heading out. "We were smoking a lot of weed at the time," said Dave Reddix, or Waldo Dave, now a 59-year-old filmmaker. "Half the fun was just going looking for it." They never found the marijuana crop, but the ritual of meeting at 4:20 p.m. and getting high stuck and quickly spread around to their friends and others in the pot smoking community. Eventually the term made its way to the circles of Grateful Dead fans, or Deadheads, and the number stuck. Years later, publications like High Times picked up on the trend and the lore grew.
