Why is April 20 the unofficial marijuana holiday in US? How 4/20 became a day to remember

This year, 4/20 and Easter Sunday align. While the two events are not related, some worshippers and consumers will possibly enjoy partaking in both.

Why is April 20 the unofficial marijuana holiday?

The “weed holiday” helps the marijuana industry push extra deals on this day. While the story behind how 4/20 became the unofficial marijuana holiday is unclear, a few popular theories keep surfacing.

Some say the holiday represents “420,” a radio code that cops have used to indicate marijuana. Some even tie the “holiday” to Bob Dylan’s song ‘Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,’ with its refrain, “Everybody must get stoned,” according to PBS. The product of multiplying 12 by 35 is 420.

However, the most likely story centres around a group of California high school friends in the 1970s. A brother of one of the friends grew marijuana in the woods near the school. However, he was afraid of being caught. He drew up a map of where to find the pot, and went on to hand it to the group of pals to harvest.

During the 1971 fall semester, at exactly 4:20 pm one day, the friends smoked a joint and went to the woods to look for fresh stash. They were never able to find it, but their code “420” caught on as the group roamed around the Grateful Dead for quite some time.

Meanwhile, despite a popular belief, the day has nothing to do with Bob Marley, USA Today reported. Marley was not born on April 20, but instead on February 6, 1945. He did not die on 4/20 either, but rather on May 11, 1981, aged 36.