On April 20, 2012 at exactly 4:20 p.m., Willie Nelson sang a
crowd favorite, “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” while the City of Austin
revealed a bronze statue to honor the Texas native. Were funny cigarettes
passed around—maybe and most likely. After all, it happened in a city where the
motto is “Keep Austin Weird.”
The History of 420
Believe what you will but there are many rumors on how 420
became associated with marijuana, Mary Jane, weed or whatever slang word you like! Some old hippies say they
know a guy who knew a guy who started in all
The Huffington Post
says one hippie icon Wavy Gravy said the term 420 began “somewhere in the foggy
mists of time.” There are others that believe it was the police code for weed
happenings. Others say it’s the total number of chemicals in one joint. The
rumors go on and on.
In reality, 420 became associated with weed smoking before a
Grateful Dead concert back in 1990—hmm I really did think I heard the term
before 1990—but I digress. Again the Huffington Post credits the term to one Grateful Dead fan who
was one of many gathered at those pre-concert parking lot must-dos called “The
Lot.” The man handed a flyer to Steve Bloom
a pop-culture writer (formerly with High
Times) and self-proclaimed hippie.
On the flyer it read “We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20
for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais.”
As the story goes, apparently Bloom passed the word and flyers were well—flying
everywhere until the term caught on.
Of course there are many others who take credit for the term so we may never really know for sure.
Party On Because You Can
Willie Nelson represents what everyone loves about Austin.
The art, the theater, the concerts and it is the self-proclaimed musical
capital of the world. The Pecan Street festival happens twice a year where
artists from across the state show off their wares and the people party into
the night on Sixth Street. Austin needs to hold this event twice a year because weather permits and well it's another chance for more 420-ing.
Austin is a collegiate town and Sixth Street has many bars—so
many you can literally fall out one door and land on the steps of the next bar—that
is if you fall left or right I suppose.
Austin is also a tech city and holds its best compared to
Silicon Valley. Of late, there are more tech start-ups in Austin than in any
other city. Are the techies gathering here to be inspired? The warm climate?
Or, are they all just here to put their imaginations to work while 420-ing? Any
answer will do because it’s bringing money and profits to the City.
Then There’s SXSW
South by Southwest which is held in Austin every spring is huge tech event—but it’s also art and pop-culture and concerts galore. The
festival starts out with well-known industry techs from around the world
including Skype visits from bad boy Julian Assange.
Matt Cutts of Google fame is always here to tell us what’s
new as far as search algorithms go but like his blog, you have to read between
his words to take any valuable information away. Cutts needs to quit working
for Google and run for President of the United States because he sure can
side-step like a politician.
Reporter: So Matt, when’s the next Panda or Penguin and
what should we all expect?”
Cutts: Oh we
never have a set date for these things and as far as what to expect, there will
be advantages and disadvantages.
Reporter: Who
will the algorithm harm most?
Cutts: Every
algorithm has a purpose and we put a lot of research into them before we
release them.
Reporter: So who
is getting screwed Cutts?
Cutts: Oh! I have
a Q&A in just a minute—sorry, gotta go.
Reporter under his
breath: Yeah good luck with that…
So the City of Austin can’t be credited with the 420 term
and how it relates to weed, but it does indeed have a Willie Nelson statue
Austinites are proud of. We boast about it. We go look at it and sneak a puff.
We are truly fans and in our hearts, the creators of 420.
But alas I am new in Austin so I haven't yet learned where any 420-ing hot spots are as of yet.
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