What is 420 all about? Short history.
Some 420 history
It’s time to learn about 420’s history before we share some tips. In much the same way that there are multiple interpretations of how marijuana got its name, 420 Day has multiple origins. The most widely accepted story is that the term was coined in 1971 by five friends who got together after practice to smoke and hang out.
A Coast Guard service member couldn’t tend to his marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. They found out about the plot of cannabis plants by the wall outside the school where they hung out, the Waldos. Waldo’s planned to meet up at 4:20 at Louis Pasteur statue outside school to hunt for free marijuana. They remind each other in hallways to meet up at 4:20-Louis.
Even though they never found the hidden patch, they made a habit of meeting at 4:20 every week and smoking all the way to Point Reyes. Eventually, 4:20-Louis, and then 4:20, became their favorite way to meet up after school to smoke or a codeword for hiding from parents.
It just so happens that the Waldos are connected to the Grateful Dead on several levels. Waldos in the Marin County Hills are connected to the Dead both geographically and by the fact that one Waldo’s parents managed real estate for the Dead, and the other Waldo’s older brother managed a Dead sideband. In the ’70s and the ’80s, the Dead took 420 around the world as they toured through the ’70s and ’80s. That’s how it spread.
There is a strong bond of community and oneness between 420 and the rest of the world today. In a hyperconnected world, there’s no better way to celebrate this holiday than by hitting pause and smoking a joint outside with friends.
You might also like: Marijuana: How Much Is Too Much?
Putting the .com in cannabis community
The 420 marijuana celebration doesn’t have to be any less social because you’re quarantining alone or away from your usual sesh buddies. Grabbing a towel in Dolores Park or lazing on the beach in SoCal may be a distant memory, but the Silicon Valley gods have graced our generation with a variety of ways to get high without physically being together. Invite your friends to a Zoom session on 4/20, smoke marijuana together and make their day.
There are several affordable meditation and yoga classes on YouTube and Amazon Prime that can help you ease into 420 or maybe even break the ice by sharing a virtual cannabis movie night with your friends.
You don’t need much knowledge to get started, and I’m not here to push illegal substances. But if you’re interested, here’s what you should know about marijuana.
1. Indica vs. Sativa
You gotta know the difference. Smoking indica makes you sleepy; it’s more of a body high that eases pain, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping — you will likely fall asleep after a few hours. Sativa’s effects are more cerebral and upbeat. Smoking immediately sparks your creativity and energizes you. To smoke too close to bedtime will keep you awake. The majority of stoners remember the difference in a very counterintuitive way. The S stands for Sativa, NOT for sleepy.
2. Say no to blunts
The Blunts are made by removing the tobacco from the cigars and replacing it with marijuana. Tobacco leaf can also be used as a wrapper for making the cannabis blunts.
Why blunt? Because of a company that is from a cigar brand called Phillies Blunt.
It has been suggested by various websites that cannabis blunts originated in New York as a method of discreetly smoking pot, among other things.
Hip-hop has popularized smoking marijuana with tobacco leaf rolling papers or hollowed-out/re-rolled Swisher Sweets. In addition to creating an addiction to nicotine, this also destroys the taste of a myriad of delicious strains on the market today. It wouldn’t make sense to mix a shot of red wine with ice and Coke, would it?
3. Get to know your gear
The use of vaporizers to smoke cannabis is popular among some people, which eliminates the intense marijuana smell and the inhalation of smoke. Nevertheless, the cannabis vape high is no longer as intense and lasting as it used to be. While bongs can be unruly and downright disgusting, a water pipe can perform the same function, filtering out the more noxious elements of combustion.
You can cut resin with isopropyl alcohol for cleaning. Do you remember the combs soaking in blue liquid on the barber’s counter? Glass pipes get the same treatment.
You might also like: Cannabis edibles: how to store them
4. Giggling Gets Old.
If you smoke for the first time, feel free to giggle your ass off, munch on Double Stuf Oreos and barbecue potato chips, and marvel at the new intensity of movies, music, and sex. Marijuana primarily enhances your sensory experience of everything around you. If you continue to smoke, please learn some dignity. Put an end to those munchies and giggles. Pay attention to these new perceptions.
5. Expectations
Cannabis gives the user a slightly different view of himself or herself, which can make them feel paranoid. You’re high, your words echo discreetly inside your own coconut, and your perspective is a little off, giving you a glimpse into yourself like you wouldn’t normally get. It’s fun to observe yourself when you smoke weed.
