What does 420, 4:20, or 4/20 mean to you?

Does 4/21 ring a bell?

According to qz.com, April 20 marks the unofficial high holiday of stoner culture, when cannabis enthusiasts around the world celebrate the fine art of smoking pot (or eating it or vaping it or drinking it). This has been a huge year for marijuana legalization, and there are more places to legally light up on 4/20 than ever.

The origins of the term 420 (pronounced “four-twenty”) are a bit hazy. Urban myths swirled for years that 420 was California state penal code for marijuana use, or numbers from a Bob Dylan song multiplied, or even related to Hitler’s birthday. All wrong.

The best evidence points to a group of California high schoolers known as “The Waldos“ who in the early 1970s would meet up after school every day at 4:20pm to get high. The term was then picked up by Grateful Dead followers and spread globally with the help of counter-culture publications like High Times. 

Warning! Before you get too high on this news you should be aware that the following day, 4/21 is National Surprise Drug Test Day!

Will you be clean and sober tomorrow, or hungover with the fear of life threatening results from substance abuse?

Me, I’m praying we will let our Higher Power guide us to the steps that lead to the courage to change the things we can, beginning with self-control.

God’s Spirit[a] doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7 CEV).