420: Everything you need to know about the history of ‘weed day’ — QUIZ

For recreational marijuana users in the U.S., 4/20 is almost better than a birthday. The time, 4:20 p.m., is important, too, as the time on Monday that lovers of the green will be lighting up around the country.

Here are all the things people think “420” came from, and where it actually did:

Chemical compounds in marijuana

According to a 2004 textbook, “Drugs, Society and Human Behavior,” there are indeed more than 400 chemicals in marijuana beyond the active ingredient delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but no reliable source pins it down to a specific number. Different strains yield different chemical makeups.

Anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth

The committed Rastafari was born on Feb. 6, 1945. Sorry, guys.

Teatime in Holland

First, 4:20 p.m. in Holland isn’t 4:20 p.m. — it’s 16:20, like the rest of Europe. This idea randomly began appearing (funnily enough) in articles about the origin of 420, never with anything to back it up. April 20 is also not the date marijuana was legalized in Amsterdam.

Anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s birth

Yes, it’s Hitler’s birthday. No, it has nothing to do with 420.

Police radio code for marijuana possession or consumption

Neither Los Angeles nor New York City use the code “420” for anything, let alone marijuana. To the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, 420 is a homicide. On a related note: penal code 420 in California refers to obstructing entry on public land.

“Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” by Bob Dylan

The Dylan classic proclaiming, “Everybody must get stoned!” isn’t about drugs, according to Dylan. The song became controversial the day of its release, but Dylan denied any connections in 1966 saying, “I never have and never will write a drug song.”

Clocks in “Pulp Fiction”

In Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, two scenes prove this untrue. First, when Jimmy, Jules and Vince are drinking coffee in the kitchen, the clock reads 8:15. Later on, the time is stated as “7:22 in the a.m.” However, the clocks on the wall of the pawn shop are all set to 4:20.

Something to do with the Grateful Dead

Sort of. If nothing else, the Dead popularized the number to the way we understand it now. According to Huffington Post, a flyer handed out at a 1990 concert in Oakland 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.” The flyer also gave the explanation of 420’s history, including the false police radio code. Deadheads from then on referred to smoking marijuana as “going to 420,” so the legend says.

A group of high school kids in 1971

In an interview with Huffington Post, the members of a group called “The Waldos” came forward to explain the origin of 420. The group, all athletes, would meet at 4:20 p.m., and used the number as a code word in school for anything pot-related as to not get caught. But the question is how did lingo from a small group of friends become a global phenomenon? Two members of the group had Grateful Dead connections, of course.

Of course, no one can go back to 1971 and verify any of that, but they’re the ones who stepped up.

Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva