420 - That's why 20.4. is World Cannabis Day

No wonder, the first Google search results are found in renowned daily and weekly newspapers. It's not a question of which paper writes about 420, but which doesn't. Watson.ch explains the symbolism behind 420 as well as the Tagesanzeiger.ch or Spiegel.de. 20min.ch even writes about cannabis lovers who have stolen the room number 420 in American hotels so often that many hotels don't even assign the number 420 anymore.

So what's the deal with the ominous number 420? For this, we also have to look again in the books, after all, our store is primarily under the sign of cannabis concentrates - and they have their very own number symbolism with "710". But whether dabbing enthusiast or joint lover: on April 20, all friends of THC and CBD come together and let no religious war in the world stop them from celebrating together.

Many legends, myths and stories circulate around the origin of 420. The number appeared in history already strikingly often - whether as a date, time or cryptic number without explanation of the meaning. Today, people are highly divided on where the stoner number 420 really came from.

420 - a date steeped in history.

What is striking about the fabled number 420 is that even before the triumph of the joint, it appeared again and again more or less by chance in history, in movies or in art. For example, the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland wore the number 420 on his hat. Hitler was born on 4/20. Curiously, an astonishing number of massacres have been carried out on 4/20: in 1633, during the 30 Years War, the Swedish army carried out a massacre in Landshut, the sunniest city in Germany. In 1914, 22 miners and innocent relatives were killed by the National Guard in Colorado for striking for fair wages. In 1999, two 17- and 18-year-old students at Columbine High School shoot and kill 12 classmates.

Also 420: On 4/20/1964, the first jar of Nutella was produced in Alba, Italy. On this day. In 1902, Marie Curie isolated the chemical element "radium" for the first time. In 1944, a cargo ship carrying 120 tons of explosives explodes in Bergen, Norway; in 2010, one of the worst oil spills in our history occurs with the explosion of the Deep Water Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

420 thus has a lot to make up for. As horrific as the events of 4/20 may have been, there is also much hope in the coded date. In 1586, Rosa of Lima, the first saint of the Americas, is born in Peru on April 20. In 1893, Joan Mirò, one of the greatest surreal artists, is born in Barcelona. In 1899, women are officially admitted to final examinations of medical courses for the first time in the German Reisch.

Warmingly beautiful: if you look at the list of personalities born on 4/20 on Wikipedia, there is an interesting change: while until 1900 primarily politicians, rulers and clergymen were born, since 1976 it is exclusively top athletes. So things have changed quite a bit since flower power has been on the rise worldwide.

420 - a stoner myth for a better world?

In stoner circles, numerous theories exist about the origin of the number 420. It is difficult to trace where the origin of the widely used number symbol is based. Some say 420 was a secret police code for tracking illegal marijuana use - so badly do the stoners of the world wish they could solve one of the most exciting chicken-and-egg problems in our history. But with a little background research, disillusionment sets in: 420 is the police code for blocking access to public property.

True or not, the most popular story is about a group of five teenagers from San Rafael, California, who call themselves the "Waldos." They were tipped off by a cannabis grower during the 1971 harvest season that there was a cannabis plantation in bloom on the Point Reyes Peninsula that he no longer wanted to worry about for reasons of paranoia. Rightly so: the good man was a Coast Guard employee and the plantation was located not far from the local Coast Guard station. Legend has it that the civil servant gave the Waldos a treasure map to the location of the plantation. They never found the field, but the story shows a certain explosiveness regarding the communication of the youth: they met every afternoon to search for the plantation at 16:20 at the Louis Pasteur statue of their school. In American slang, the time is pronounced "4:20" - they quickly arranged to meet only at "4:20 Louis" and eventually only at "4:20".

This story was promoted by the Hightimes, always the biggest puplication platform for cannabis news and knowhow, as the only true story of the origin of 420. It's a nice story, and every legend has some truth to it. In any case, the Waldos, who drove their Chevy Impala to the search area every day, were enthusiastic about the possibility of coded communication. Soon they were arranging other cannabis-related activities using only "420." Among their circle of friends, the code made the rounds - and the Waldos' circle of friends was large and influential: for example, one of the Waldos was good friends with the pro-psychedelic band "The Greatful Dead," and the five of them regularly stoned backstage with the influential rock band. True or not, in 1990, 19 years after the Waldos' plantation search, flyers from The Greatful Dead circulated in Northern California with the words "420."

420 as a mass smoke-in.

Smoke-ins are flash mobs in which large numbers of stoners arrange to smoke joints together in one place. See decades, American and Canadian students celebrate massive smoke-ins at their universities on April 4 to make a statement in support of cannabis legalization. It's the one day of the year when police widely refrain from prosecuting people for illegal cannabis use, and universities are terribly concerned about their reputations.

We hope you have a nice 420 this year and enjoy the day with delicious CBD joints and concentrates. Due to the current situation surrounding Covid-19, we ask that you refrain from flash mobs and smoke-ins this year, the year of years for 420. For your safety and all of ours, let's keep our distance this year and come together in spirit. Stay well!