420

Coined in autumn 1971 by five students at San Rafael High School, Marin County, California — Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich — the "Waldos." A friend's brother, a U.S. Coast Guardsman, had reportedly abandoned a cannabis patch on the Point Reyes Peninsula; the five agreed to meet at 4:20 p.m. at the Louis Pasteur statue on campus, using the code phrase "4:20 Louis." After multiple failed searches, the phrase shortened to "4:20" and became shorthand for cannabis generally. The term spread through the Grateful Dead touring community after Reddix roadied for bassist Phil Lesh. A December 1990 Oakland Deadhead flyer reached High Times writer Steven Bloom; editor Steven Hager investigated and in December 1998 credited the Waldos. The Huffington Post (2009) and SFGate (2000) corroborated with preserved 1971 letters and flags; the Oxford English Dictionary now cites the Waldos. ⚠️ Persistent myths to discard: a nonexistent police radio code, Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (12 × 35 = 420), a purported count of cannabis compounds, and a coincidental alignment with Hitler's birthday and certain rock-star deaths.