Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Forum

One lazy afternoon in 1971, five students at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, Calif., met up exactly an hour and 10 minutes after school got out. The Waldos, as they called themselves, congregated outside their school's Louis Pasteur statue and went on a mission. Earlier that day, they had obtained a treasure map from a friend leading to a secret spot near the Point Reyes Peninsula. School got out at 3:10 p.m., so they used the code word "420 Louis" to indicate the time and place where their adventure would begin. The secret treasure was a pot patch that one of their brothers had grown.

I'm assuming their mission was accomplished, because what started as a meeting time for a bunch of smart-ass kids ready to get stoned has now become a counterculture phenomenon.

With help from Jerry Garcia, that is. The Grateful Dead, whose headquarters were conveniently located near the high school, adopted the term "420" as a way to imply smoke-friendly activities (such as their concerts). It was then up to the dedicated Deadheads to spread the phrase, which they have been doing for almost 40 years.

In that time, the infamous term has been seen in various aspects of popular culture. In 1994, director Quentin Tarantino had all the clocks set to 4:20 in his film "Pulp Fiction." Sofia Coppola followed the trend and did the same for all the clocks in her 2003 film, "Lost in Translation." The couple began a romance a year later.

And it has even created cult celebrities like the guy who kept betting the $420 figure when he was a contestant on "The Price Is Right." Needless to say, he didn't win shit.

Now a staple in any stoner's calendar, the date April 20 (happening this Sunday) is considered a holiday in the blazing community, and celebrations are happening all over the world aimed at those ready to slack off, light up and chillax. Whether it's a psychedelic light show in Amsterdam, the NORML conference in San Francisco or an outdoor concert in Evanston, the experience of 420 is now global.

Even beyond the date and time, the numbers themselves are also considered popular indicators of reefer rituals. Looking for pot? Hey, how about that guy with the shirt that says "420 is my life." Looking for a pot-friendly place to sublet on craigslist? Hmmm, this place says "420-friendly."

Even the government is catching on. In 2004, a bill went into effect in California to clear the smoke around some provisions of Prop. 215, which allowed the use of medical marijuana. Senate Bill 420 is a compromise between law enforcement and marijuana advocacy to protect medical users from being arrested.

The Waldos, the self-proclaimed founding fathers of 420, are now older and wiser and maybe even still living at home. But they do have their place in history, hazy as it may be.

Being responsible for the phrase that has separated the hip and underground cannabis culture from the straight-and-narrow, "what's that smell?" rest deserves its high place on urbandictionary.com.

Weinberg senior Oscar Raymundo can be reached at omraymundo@u.northwestern.edu.

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