This year, Saturday is Cannabis Culture’s High Holiday (420), observed by cannabis aficionados worldwide who get together to share joints and fellowship amid a cloud of cannabis smoke.
So why is April 20th designated as Light Up Day? The term’s origins can be traced back to a group of five guys from Marin County who were students at San Rafael High School in 1971 and are now in their 60s. The term “the Waldos,” coined by comedian Buddy Hackett to characterize eccentric people, was adopted by the group.
David Reddix, Steve Capper, Larry Schwartz, Jeff Noel, and Mark Gravich made up the clique, and they met regularly at a certain location on campus.
“In the midst of school, we used to gather on this wall. And that’s how our name came to be,” Reddix stated. The teens were jokers or “social satirists” back then, and their main goal was to make others laugh. They also just so happened to light up some pot.
Early Days of 420
Yes, we smoked a lot of marijuana, but it wasn’t the main focus. It was mostly just our same sense of humor,” Capper remarked.
Reddix, a filmmaker and former photographer and field producer for CNN in San Francisco, stated, “The weed just enhanced our humor.”
The “420” allusion first surfaced right before a “Waldo Safari,” which Reddix and Capper explained as field excursions during which the group would travel throughout the Bay Area and beyond. During one of these outings, we looked for a cannabis patch. Capper clarified that the US Coast Guard stationed at Point Reyes was home to his friend’s brother, who was cultivating cannabis.
They developed a strange fear that their commanding officer would bust them. Thus, they made the decision to give up on the patch,” Capper said.
Capper stated the brother of his friend prepared a map and authorized the teenagers to collect the powerful plant.
“We became rather animated. Free cannabis. In the past. It was obvious,” he remarked.
Eager to uncover the forbidden grove, the Waldos set out on their Waldo Safari.
We agreed to get together after school. We agreed to meet at the school by the statue of the chemist Louis Pasteur, who created pasteurization, at 4:20 p.m., Capper added. According to him, the Waldos selected that precise time for a variety of reasons. Priorities took precedence, as some of them had study hall or football practice earlier in the day, and the fun came later.
Reddix recalled, “We would get high and then jump into Steve’s ’66 Impala with the killer eight-track stereo and drive out to Point Reyes looking for this patch.”
“We had a word for marijuana that neither our parents nor the police would understand. The educators wouldn’t be aware.”
The Waldos chose to go on their expedition to find the elusive marijuana harvest after their previous attempt at it failed, and they used the slogan “420 Louis” to remember themselves to meet up after school.
Despite never finding the plants, “420 Louie” (after simply “420”) became ingrained in their private language.
Apply the Code
“We had a word for marijuana that neither our parents nor the police would understand. Reddix stated, “The teachers wouldn’t know.” “So, we used it as a secret code.”
The group categorically disavows the most pervasive myth regarding the origins of 420: that it was a police code for anyone caught in possession of marijuana.
The Waldos only utilized the low-key code to indicate that they would be getting high after school. The group had to be covert about their activities because, at the time, marijuana use was prohibited and might result in severe consequences.
Marijuana was categorized as a Schedule I substance under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, and the Drug Enforcement Administration states that this classification has been in place ever since, signifying a significant potential for misuse.
“When we were searching for, purchasing, and consuming marijuana while driving around. People lose sight of how heinously forbidden it was. You might spend years in prison if it is discovered that you are smoking marijuana in your car, stated Capper. “We were constantly looking over our shoulder, constant paranoia.”
Before California approved marijuana usage for recreational purposes in 2016, there were no dispensaries as there are today. The Waldos obtained their cannabis back then from friends or dealers.
“You were never sure of the strain of marijuana or its THC content. Thus, each time you smoked, it was like playing Russian roulette,” said Capper, adding that buying marijuana at the time was a risk. “Sometimes, it’s pretty astonishing.”
420 Becomes Popular
The 420 code was only used within the group, but because of the Waldos’ relationships to the rock group Grateful Dead and the Deadheads, who also adopted the code, the slang became known outside of the Waldos.
Reddix, whose brother was strong friends with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, observed, “Backstage where I was getting high with guys like David Crosby, Phil Lesh, Terry Haggerty, it started filtering through the Deadheads and the roadies.” “Then it became kind of viral before the internet.”
The phrase gained much more traction.
While attending a Grateful Dead concert in Oakland in the early 1990s, Steve Bloom, a reporter for the cannabis-focused High Times magazine, picked up a flyer that encouraged people to “meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais.”
According to Reddix, the group has documentation of this knowledge as well as postmarked letters that the Waldos sent regarding 420 in the 1970s. The High Times published this information in the magazine. There is no questioning the Waldos’ claim that they are the phrase’s originators.
These days, the slogan is so embedded in popular culture that April 20 is commonly observed as a day to indulge in all things cannabis.
The usage of the plant is now tolerated more widely and with less restrictions in many US states. The Waldos found it fascinating how marijuana acceptance has changed throughout time.
“I see this billboard as I drive through the East Bay that says, ‘Delivery, marijuana to your door.'” For those of our generation, it’s mind-boggling,” Capper remarked. “It’s mind-boggling that somebody can deliver what you need to your door.”
Reddix said he never thought marijuana use for recreational purposes would be permitted.
“We never thought that it would be legal, back when we were smoking it in high school, it was like an impossibility,” he stated.
Capper went on, “We were the Forest Gump of weed.”
Still in joy
Now, as they celebrate April 20th, they will remember the transformations they have seen from marijuana’s illegality to its legalization, some of which they even contributed to.
Despite their differing tastes in marijuana products, the gang nevertheless celebrates the high holiday together and indulges in cannabis.
According to Reddix, their contemporary custom is to get together at the Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma and have “The Waldos Special Ale,” which is made just for the group by the brewery. On their website, The Waldos also provide rolling paper and themed clothing.
Reddix remembered experiencing Hippie Hill in San Francisco more than ten years prior during 420, calling it a “cacophony of craziness” with dense smoke clouds looming over Golden Gate Park.
Reddix and Capper stated that although San Francisco postponed this year’s Hippie Hill festival, there are still reasons to celebrate 420, but in different places.
“420 doesn’t end there. People will continue to celebrate, according to Capper. “They’re going to go to lounges, they’re going to go to clubs, they can go to an art gallery (and) if you’re real hungry, you can go to a donut shop.”
The Waldos resume their private lives after the high holiday, despite being well-known as the real creators of the 420 phrases.
It’s similar to putting up Christmas decorations every year. And when it’s finished, we can exhale deeply and say, “Thank God, it’s over.” Reddix remarked jokingly.
Leave a Reply