420 (Cannabis-Kultur)

2007-03-04T22:42:58Z

HowIBecameCivil: /* Occurrences in film and television */ so?

[[Image:Weeed1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A ''[[Cannabis sativa]]'' plant]]

'''420''' (pronounced '''four-twenty''') is a term used in [[Cannabis culture]] to describe the use of [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], and elements of its associated [[culture]].

Cannabis users gather on [[April 20]] ("4/20" in the [[United States]] dating shorthand) every year to celebrate and consume cannabis. 4:20 p.m. (or even a.m.) is also a popular time to consume cannabis.[http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/420.htm] "420 friendly" is seen on advertisements for roommates, indicating that the house mates are tolerant of smoking cannabis[http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/boulder_still_a_bastion_of_hippies_and_radicals_apparently/C82/L40/].

== Origin ==
The origin of the term "420" is the subject of some dispute and much speculation, and so no theory can be said conclusively to be correct, but the term seems to have been coined in [[North America]] in the early 1970s.[http://www.hightimes.com/ht/lounge/index.php?page=420]

=== Commonly accepted origin ===
According to [[Snopes.com]], ''[[High Times]]'' magazine, [[The Marijuana-Logues]], and ''[[The Straight Dope]]'', in the early 1970s, a group of teenagers at [[San Rafael High School]] in [[San Rafael, California]], used to meet every day after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] at the [[Louis Pasteur]] statue. This theory is the most cited and the most widely accepted.[http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/420.htm]

One piece of evidence supporting an origin of the term from the time 4:20 is the fact that the term is always said "four twenty" in line with common U.S. terminology for time, rather than being pronounced "four-two-zero" or "four-hundred and twenty".

=== Alternative origins ===
* Karen Bettez Halnon summarizes and analyzes several popular [[theories]] about 420, explaining how it functions as a multi-faceted expression of pot-smoker identity and community.[http://hempfest.org/420.php]
* [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s 1936 short story "[[In the Walls of Eryx]]" contains the following passage: "My route must have been far from straight, for it seemed hours before I was free of the mirage-plant's pervasive influence . . . When I did get wholly clear I looked at my watch and was astonished to find that the time was only 4:20." Lovecraft describes these "curious mirage-plants" as having a "shaggy stalk", "spiky leaves", and "mottled blossoms whose gaseous, dream-breeding exhalations penetrate every existing make of mask." This theory for the origin of 4:20 was postulated on the official website for the American rock band [[Tool (band)|Tool]].[http://www.toolband.com/news/letter/2002_04.php]

== References in popular culture ==
===Occurrences in music===
* The song "I'm A Weed Plant" by [[Fishbone]] contains the lyric, "I'm a weed plant, and when you say 420 you'll think of me / It's sort of illegal, but not in reality."[http://www.asklyrics.com/display/Fishbone/I%60m_A_Weed_Plant_Lyrics/96650.htm]
* Rap artist [[Afroman]] released an album called '[[4RO20]]' and [http://www.afromanmusic.com his website] runs under the slogan "Where it's always 4RO20." Also, he changed the label on his "Colt 45" bottle to say "Cult 420," as seen on his website. Also, the clock shown on his website is stopped at 4:20.
* The album ''[[Royal Highness (album)|Royal Highness]]'' by the [[Kottonmouth Kings]] lists all song durations as 4:20; actual song times vary. They also have a song called "4-2-0."
* The song "Take Me to Your Leader" by [[Incubus (band)|Incubus]] contains the lyric, "What if my watch read four dot dot two oh every hour, every day, you could bet your dollar I'd be happy!"
* The song "Trouble in 421" by [[Incubus (band)|Incubus]] has the subject of the song living in apartment "420 G," and contains the lyrics, "his pupil was wide open...it was indubitably dose derived," and, "I beg my common sense to keep my neighbor out away from my front door until I find a way to hide myself from those in 4-2-1...one away from the good one."
* The song "Stoned Part I" (from the album ''Stoned'' by [[Lewis Taylor]]) was also released in a "420 Mix" by [http://www.hacktone.com HackTone Records], with a duration of 4:20.
* The [[Megadeth]] song "Mary Jane," from their third album ''[[So Far, So Good...So What!]]'', has its last beat stop at exactly four minutes and twenty seconds, even though the total running time is 4:24. "Mary Jane" is a common slang term for cannabis.
* The [[death metal]] band [[Six Feet Under (band)|Six Feet Under]] recorded a song called "420" with a running time of four minutes and twenty seconds for their [[1997]] album ''[[Warpath (album)|Warpath]]''. A vocal proponent of legalizing cannabis, frontman [[Chris Barnes (musician)|Chris Barnes]] wrote the song about the effects of cannabis and often refers to the act of smoking when the band plays the song live. <ref>One recorded instance is the live album ''Live In San Francisco 2002'', released as a bonus disc with the limited edition of SFU album ''[[13 (Six Feet Under album)|13]]''.</ref> According to the album liner notes, the song was recorded at 4:20 p.m. on [[April 20]], 1997.
* Rapper [[Method Man]]'s fourth studio album was named ''[[4:21...The Day After]]'', because, according to the rapper himself, "The national weed smoking day is 4/20, so I named my album 4/21 the day after. Because after that day, you have this moment of clarity when you’re not high and you see things clearly."{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
* The Beatles' song Come Together, which was the campaign song for Timothy Leary, has the lenght of 4:20

=== Occurrences in film and television ===
* The number is prominently featured in the 2005 made-for-television [[Reefer Madness (2005 film)|musical version of ''Reefer Madness'']], which is based on the [[Reefer Madness (musical)|''Reefer Madness'' stage show]], which itself is based on the aforementioned 1936 film.

=== Other popular culture occurrences ===
[[Image:420 clock.jpg|thumb|250px|A speaking digital clock marketed as displaying the time 4:20.]]

* A [[Cannabis coffee shops|cannabis coffee shop]] named ''De Kuil'', located at Oude Brugsteeg 27 in [[Amsterdam]], [[The Netherlands]] has an alternate name - the "420 Cafe".
* In the game [[Kingdom of Loathing]], eating 420 herb brownies earns you the "Bouquet of Hippies" trophy.
* A chain of [[head shops]] in Japan are all named 4:20.
* 42 Degrees is the name of a U.S. [[head shop]] operation, with locations in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]], [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]], and [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]. When written out with the symbol for temperature degrees, '''42°''' is a play on 420.
* In Auckland, New Zealand, there is a nightclub called 4:20 in The K-Road nightlife district. While all forms of smoking are illegal inside clubs and bars in New Zealand (including tobacco), this club maintains cannabis themed branding and frequently features musical acts in genres typically associated with cannabis culture, such as reggae, dub and roots-electronica.

== See also ==
{{Cannabis resources}}

== References ==
<references/>
* Halnon, Karen Bettez. [http://hempfest.org/420.php The Power of 420: Transforming the universal code into a collective consciousness for stoners]. Seattle Hempfest site; originally published in High Times, May 2003.
* Manjoo, Farhad. [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,51986-0.html High Holy Day for Potheads]. Wired News, April 20, 2001.
* Paiyne, Viper. [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/viperslair/lair_ready/tales/420revealed.htm 4:20 Revealed]. Viper's Lair, March 22, 2004.
* Phish.net FAQ [http://www.phish.net/faq/420.html What does the number 420 signify, and why?]

== External links ==
* [http://www.hightimes.com/ht/lounge/index.php?page=420 420 Timeline/When's Your 420?] from High Times
* [http://www.chrisconrad.com/expert.witness/sb420-03.htm California Senate Bill 420] medical marijuana implementation, effective January 1, 2004.
* [http://www.toolband.com/news/letter/2002_04.php Origin of H.P. Lovecraft 4:20 myth]

[[Category:April observances]]
[[Category:Numbers in pop culture]]
[[Category:Cannabis culture]]

[[ja:420 (大麻)]]
[[fi:420 (kannabiskulttuuri)]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

420 (Cannabis-Kultur)