Marijuana advocates are gearing up for April 20. Known as 4/20, marijuana's high holiday on Saturday is often marked by large gatherings to smoke together.

Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts.

This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in nearly half the states and the nation’s capital. Many states have instituted “social equity” measures to help communities of color, harmed the most by the drug war, reap financial benefits from legalization. And the White House has shown an openness to marijuana reform.

(T)he prevailing explanation is that it started in the 1970s with a group of bell-bottomed buddies from San Rafael High School, in California’s Marin County north of San Francisco, who called themselves “the Waldos.” A friend’s brother was afraid of getting busted for a patch of cannabis he was growing in the woods at nearby Point Reyes, so he drew a map and gave the teens permission to harvest the crop, the story goes.

During fall 1971, at 4:20 p.m., just after classes and football practice, the group would meet up at the school’s statue of chemist Louis Pasteur, smoke a joint and head out to search for the weed patch. They never did find it, but their private lexicon — “420 Louie” and later just “420” — would take on a life of its own.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
    3213·
    7 months ago

    This article talks about activism, but the lack of activism is the problem and why I honestly don’t like it. It should be a day of activism, but it’s “let’s all get high and party” instead.

    Not only has the drug war incarcerated a huge number of people over a plant that hasn’t even been processed like cocaine or heroin, the medical use is really important. I know because I don’t use it for fun, I use it as a pain modifier for my trigeminal neuralgia and when I don’t have access to it, the pain is much more intense. If 4/20 was about promoting legal use and promoting the medical properties over having a big party, I’d love it, but it isn’t.

    If it became “let’s all have a big party” after it is legalized nationally, I’ll join up with the rest of the party team. But until then, I’ll just keep doing my regular activism and ignore any significance of tomorrow as if it’s a special holiday.

    And if I’m imbibing on 4/20 at 4:20, it will be because I’m in too much pain, not because I’m celebrating.

    (I’m guessing I just pissed a bunch of people off. Oh well.)

    • whoreticulture@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      2710·
      7 months ago

      Kind of a shit take (like all of your takes are). People are allowed to have fun and be activists. Celebration is activism. Think about gay pride. Having a 4/20 party further normalizes cannabis in our culture.

      • Empricorn@feddit.nlEnglish
        3·
        7 months ago

        Kind of a shit take (like all of your takes are).

        So, definitely not biased then.

      • AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        7 months ago

        think about gay pride

        I don’t think that’s the argument you think it is. Gay bros and corporations have turned it from activism and throwing bricks at cops into a heavily capitalist party. It pink washes a bunch of shitty corporations - Target sponsors my local corporate pride. Remember last year when they pulled everything that recognizes trans people from their pride collection in order to cave to a handful of terrorists? They’re probably going to drop the T again this year, and they’ve already resumed donations to Republicans. And Ron DeSantis is currently doing a genocide of trans people in Florida, but the Gays only kinda care about that.

        Fuck the party. Throw bricks at pigs.

        • Thetimefarm@lemm.ee
          1·
          7 months ago

          This is a terrible attitude to have, not necessarily the anti corporate stuff, but we absolutely shouldn’t be associating the queer community with random violence. Self and community defense are there own issues as there is a higher rate of violence against LGB and especially T people. Anything you can do to help a trans person leave the state of Florida would be infinitely more useful than throwing a brick at a cop. Anything like that will just be used as ammunition by the people trying to say that trans people, drag queens, etc are somehow dangerous to society. It doesn’t matter to most people in Florida that fascists are orders of magnitude more violent, anything done by a trans person will be amplified to an extreme by right wing media.

          • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
            1·
            7 months ago

            The violence absolutely shouldn’t be happening today but we need to not forget it also. Our rights are forged in a lot of things including absolutely wrecking shit when we’re cracked down on. But it was also a variety of other things including getting political ins, getting conversations with psychologists, making consistent demands, and our moms. Like seriously I think we understate how much moms of all people got us rights. When queer people were hated stories of mothers mourning their children made people give a shit about AIDS.

            But yeah the violence is part of it. But save your brick for a proud boy this June. Don’t worry, you’ll see one.

    • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
      14·
      7 months ago

      There’s activism happening around 4/20. My dispensary is getting folks to post their experiences with medical use, and getting them to sign a petition and giving out stickers promoting my state’s recreational bill. Plus sometimes it’s fun to have fun. Having a single day (and time) to make it a cultural event helps with activism by removing the stigma against it.

      I don’t celebrate 4/20 because I use it medicinally, but I’m glad it’s a thing if only because it makes everybody forget Hitler’s birthday.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        9·
        7 months ago

        but I’m glad it’s a thing if only because it makes everybody forget Hitler’s birthday.

        Okay, that’s fair.

    • Awesomematter@lemmy.world
      10·
      7 months ago

      Please check out NORML.org

      I’ve been a supporter for quite some time. They’re really trying to make a strong grassroots presence and bring change along with peer reviewed studies.

    • deeferg@lemmy.world
      8·
      7 months ago

      Most activists are active year round, not just one day a year. Give them that one day to unwind and show people why the plant isn’t a harmful substance and remind them why they’re fighting to prove it’s right to be legal.

      Plus a lot of countries are legalizing in the west. Not everyone lives in the USA.

    • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
      91·
      7 months ago

      (I’m guessing I just pissed a bunch of people off. Oh well.)

      If someone’s angry that’s on them, not you.

    • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      5·
      7 months ago

      Yeah it’s not like states have been legalizing as a direct result of that activism, or the secondary line who saw those states make money and finally gave in as well!

      In my life it has gone from 0/50 in states legal or medical in 1996 to 26/50 states legal and 12/50 states medical 28yr later. Not that the job is done, but you talk like activism is non-existant.