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You may not realize it, but next week there is a stoner holiday.
On April 20th every year, marijuana lovers around the world gather to celebrate the beautiful, majestic cannabis plant in their favorite ways.
You may have heard the term used in many different ways, but whether it connotes a time of day, a day of the year, or an entire lifestyle for you, 420 is what binds the cannabis community together.
The story of the roots of 420 friendliness in the United States, much like many things involving cannabis, is pretty hazy (get it?). However, there are some commonly believed theories that can help us understand what the term 420 means in a historical context.
If you are not familiar with the term “420” as it is used in the marijuana culture, here’s a look at its origins and its meaning. Before examining the type of 420 friendly services available across America, let’s briefly discuss where the term 420 came from, the history behind it and why it is embedded in America Culture.
What 420 Means
If you’re passing the pipe of that sweet Mary Jane, 420 is all you’ve got to say to let people know that you partake as well. The term "420" was first associated with marijuana use in 1971 and has been very much used since.
With marijuana being illegal, consumers had to partake in secret, shop in dark alleys, and speak in code. Though it originally spread as an internal clock for a single group of smokers, the term now refers to the ongoing fight for nationwide legalization and the spread of accessible information within both the medical and recreational communities.
Today, the term 420 and references to marijuana are all over the social media, games, music, and websites that people are using every day.
Origin Story of 420
Cannabis is a plant of many names: weed, ganja, marijuana, kush, etc. In today’s legalization of marijuana in Colorado, we can call cannabis whatever we would like without the worry of police interference. But things were not always so rosy.
In the early 1970s, weed was still highly illegal. The term 420 originated with a group of high school kids at San Rafael High School in California. The group who called themselves “The Waldos” started using 4:20 as the time of day they would meet to go seek out a secret stash they would leave in various places. Rather than announce they were going to get high, they used the code 420.
The ritual spread, and soon 420 became code for smoking marijuana. Eventually, 420 was converted into 4/20 for calendar purposes, and the day of celebration was born.
What Being 420 Friendly Means
You will ultimately need to ask the person if they themselves smoke, though it is usually implied that they do if they have this in their profile.
Since its origins back in the 70s, 420 has stuck as a pretense for cannabis culture. 4:20 is the hour to partake, and April 20th has become the international stoner holiday to celebrate cannabis culture and progress. The term 420 and its usefulness as a discrete codeword lives on today, particularly on different sites. How will you know if your future girlfriend, roommate, or houseguest is down to smoke? Drop a 420 friendly in there.
The term 420 friendly essentially means that the person smokes marijuana or is open to smoking it. This term can also mean that the person doesn’t smoke themselves, but they are okay with those who do.
420 friendly is seen quite often with advertisements for housemates, tenants, or dating apps. It simply means that the person or place is accepting of people who smoke weed and probably do it themselves.
In the past, 420 friendly has meant that a business or hotel won’t call the police on you if you spark up. However, given the shaky legal status of pot in the past, the term was only as reliable as the person in charge of wherever you were staying.
That said, with the rapidly changing weed laws that are currently rocking the country the definition of what is 420 friendly is changing pretty rapidly. Now the possibility of finding places with actual legal policies in place to ensure that you are able to smoke undisturbed.
Why is Colorado Known for Being 420 Friendly?
People have always used pot to socialize throughout the centuries. With marijuana legalization popping up everywhere, stoners around the country now have lots of options when it comes to herbal socializing (though slowed due to COVID).
Being the first to blaze the trail, Colorado is well known for being 420 friendly. Colorado was afterall one of the first states to legalize. Safe to assume we have some cannabis consumers in this state. Also, Colorado is slowly unveiling pot coffee shops, smoking lounges, and hotels coming in the future.
Colorado is very 420 friendly.
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