Pharmhouse Wellness Grand Rapids Michigan

All About 420

If you’re new to weed or even consider yourself an expert you might not know the details about the high holiday of 4/20. We’ve got the dope on the special number so you’ll be in the know.

A Few Not-True Things About 420

Have you ever heard these things about 420?

Bob Marley was born or died on April 20.
The popular reggae musician was born in February and died in May.

We’ve heard that 420 was the California police code for marijuana possession or smoking back in the day before legalization. That’s wrong—the 420 code number is for homicide.

For those good at math, the Bob Dylan song Rainy Day Woman #12 & #35 multiplied equals 420, but that’s not how 420 phenomena got moving.

It’s said that 4/20 is the best day to start your cannabis planting, but if you live here in Michigan and doing that outdoors, you’re likely to encounter frost—which equals dead plants.

Enough Guessing! The Truth About 420

Like most good weed stuff, the story of 420 begins in California and involves the Grateful Dead.

Back in the early 1970s in Marin County, near San Francisco, a group of friends nicknamed The Waldos were students at San Rafael High School. The Waldos heard rumors about a patch of hidden cannabis growing at Point Reyes and it was their mission to find and smoke that weed!

The Waldos started using “420 Louie” as code to meet near a statue of scientist Louis Pasteur on school property after sports practice—which was around 4:20 PM. From there they would drive off and search for the goods.

Eventually, the code was shortened to 420 and it stuck and spread—thanks to group use and one of the Waldos having a pretty cool big brother and parental connections to the Grateful Dead—it’s believed that members of the Dead used the number and like a good joint it kept getting passed on.

Now 420 is used all over the globe when talking about smoking weed or being weed-friendly.

Why 420 Lives On

420 is a reason to come together as a cannabis community and celebrate. Stoners gather where cannabis is legal and enjoy it and in places where cannabis is still illegal, people gather for legalization rallies. 420 is a big day for anyone in the world who enjoys weed, sees benefits in its consumption and wants it to be legal everywhere.

The term 420-friendly can refer to a person or place. For example, a 420-friendly hotel or Airbnb will allow cannabis consumption on their property. If you’re going to someone’s house for the first time and they tell you that they’re “420-friendly,” you can come to visit and consume cannabis while you’re there. In places where cannabis is legal, like Amsterdam or Spain, a café or a bar can also be 420-friendly, which means you can buy and consume cannabis at the same place.

So, 420 is not just a random number. It is a cultural phenomenon that unites people from all around the world. The 20th of April is now a global cannabis day.

To celebrate 4/20 Pharmhouse is offering a bunch of specials and a live comedy show from 3-5 PM—and there’s more to come as we get closer to the day.