How the term 420 became a code name for smoking marijuana has been steeped in speculation and legend for decades. Like many, I believed that 420 was the Marin County police code for “marijuana smoking in progress”. But this is, in fact, an urban legend. In the 1990s it was finally made public that the term 420 was coined by five San Rafael High School students who called themselves The Waldos. In 1971 The Waldos got wind that a Coast Guard service member had abandoned a marijuana plot somewhere on the Point Reyes Peninsula. They agreed to meet at 4:20 every afternoon to search for this hidden spot. They spent weeks trying to find it, to no avail, but the term 420 soon became their code name for toking. Meanwhile, The Grateful Dead[1] were living in a house close to the high school and there were family business connections between The Waldos and the band. The Waldos routinely went to Grateful Dead rehearsals and concerts and it is believed that this is how 420 began to spread within the music subculture. By the mid-1990s, 420 was a globally recognized term.
It has become a tradition to light up at 4:20 on 4/20 and, in San Francisco, a large gathering takes place at Hippie Hill and Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park[2]. The City has never tried to prohibit this event because, as Mayor London Breed was quoted saying, “Smoking anything in any city park is illegal, but San Francisco has a tradition of turning a blind eye to infractions for official and unofficial events.” When marijuana was legalized in California in 2017, 420 at Hippie Hill[3] became a city-permitted event. Haight Ashbury merchants are official sponsors and provide fencing, food vendors, bathrooms, security, emergency medical services and clean-up crews.
In 2020 and 2021 420 at Hippie Hill was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The event resumed in 2022.
[1] The Grateful Dead: story coming August 9th
[2] Golden Gate Park: story coming April 4th [3] Visit them at www.420hippiehill.com
