Every year on April 20, millions of people around the world observe what has become an unofficial international holiday centred on cannabis culture, advocacy and consumption. If you have seen the date written as 4/20 or heard people reference it and wondered what it actually means and where it came from — here is the complete story.
The Origin — Five California Teenagers in 1971
The story behind 4/20 is considerably more grounded than the urban legends that have accumulated around it over the decades. The term traces back to a group of five students at San Rafael High School in California who called themselves the Waldos — a reference to the wall they used to hang out against on campus.
In the autumn of 1971, the Waldos heard about a cannabis crop that had reportedly been abandoned by its grower near Point Reyes, not far from San Rafael. Armed with a hand-drawn map, they agreed to meet at 4:20 PM after school to search for it. They used the phrase “4:20 Louis” — a reference to a Louis Pasteur statue that was their meeting point — to remind each other of the plan without adults catching on. The crop was never found, but the phrase stuck. “4:20” became their shorthand for cannabis consumption, spreading outward through their social connections.
The phrase gained its first major public amplification through the Grateful Dead and their extended community in the 1990s, when a Deadhead flyer circulating at concerts referenced 4:20 as a time to consume cannabis, was picked up by High Times magazine, and from there entered the broader cultural vocabulary. By the 2000s it had become globally recognised.
What 4/20 Means Today
What started as five teenagers’ secret code has evolved into three distinct but overlapping things simultaneously.
It is a cultural celebration — a day when cannabis consumers gather publicly or privately to mark the occasion, with events ranging from large public gatherings in cities where cannabis is legal to smaller private observances. In jurisdictions where cannabis is legalised for recreational use, including several US states, Canada, parts of Europe and other regions, dispensaries typically run significant discounts and promotions on April 20, making it the cannabis industry’s equivalent of a commercial holiday.
It is a political moment — used by legalisation advocates as a focal point for activism, public demonstrations and policy conversations. Cannabis legalisation and decriminalisation movements in dozens of countries have used April 20 as an annual platform to advance their arguments, making the date as much about policy as about consumption for many participants.
It is a code — still used in daily conversation to reference cannabis without saying the word explicitly. The time 4:20 PM retains its original meaning for many users, and the date April 20 functions as an annual reminder of the culture it represents.
The India Context
Cannabis sits in a complex legal position in India. Bhang — a preparation made from the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant — has a long cultural and religious history in India and is consumed openly during festivals like Holi, particularly in states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan where it is sold through licensed government shops. However, charas and ganja — the resinous and flowering preparations more commonly associated with recreational use internationally — remain controlled substances under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985.
The global 4/20 conversation has found an audience in India primarily through social media and among urban youth, where the date is acknowledged and discussed even if the consumption it references remains legally restricted for most preparations. The broader global debate around cannabis legalisation — which has accelerated significantly over the past decade — has begun to surface in Indian policy discussions as well, though no legislative movement toward legalisation is currently underway.
Why the Date Has Lasted
4/20 has survived and grown for over five decades because it attached itself to something larger than a school-yard code word. Cannabis culture, cannabis policy reform and cannabis commerce have all grown substantially over the period, and the date has served each of them as a convenient annual focal point. The simplicity of the number — easy to remember, easy to reference, easy to incorporate into everyday language — has helped it travel across languages and cultures in a way that more complex cultural markers rarely manage.
Whether you observe it, ignore it, or are simply reading this article because you saw the date referenced and wanted to know what it meant — now you know where 4:20 actually came from. Five teenagers. A lost crop. A statue named after Louis Pasteur. And fifty years of cultural momentum.