cannabisnews.com: Potheads Ready To Roll on Day They Call 4:20 Potheads Ready To Roll on Day They Call 4:20 Posted by CN Staff on April 20, 2004 at 07:35:19 PT By Gloria Galloway Source: Globe and Mail It may seem like just another Tuesday, but today -- called 4:20 by those in the know -- is a high holy day for North America's dedicated pot smokers.To some, April 20 is a good day to light up a joint and celebrate marijuana with friends. To others, its a time to protest against the fact that, despite moves toward decriminalization, the drug is still illegal in both Canada and the United States. "It's Pothead New Year's. That's what I like to call it, anyway," said Abi Roach of Roach-O-Rama, a store in Toronto's Kensington Market area that caters to marijuana users.It's also a time for political activism. The spirit of the annual commemoration is "everybody unite and show your true colours, come out of your grow closets and let everybody know that you smoke and not to be embarrassed of it," said Ms. Roach, a pseudonym she has adopted to protect herself and her family from harassment.She expects an "all-day celebration" at her store.Rallies and parties will take place across Canada today, particularly in the bigger cities where the marijuana culture maintains a more visible presence. Young people will skip class to smoke up with their friends. Movie cinemas will hold special 4:20 showings. And a marijuana boat cruise will set sail in Vancouver.But the most dramatic event may be the "smoke-out" on Highway 420 in Niagara Falls, Ont., that is being planned by a group called Cannabis in Canada. Supporters of legalization will gather beside the highway where it meets the Rainbow Bridge leading into the United States and light their joints.Marco Renda, an advocate for medicinal marijuana, is on the list of speakers."We're going to be out there doing a peaceful protest, basically making the public aware of marijuana being for medical and other uses," Mr. Renda said.The federal government is considering a bill that would decriminalize the possession of 15 grams or less -- about 15 to 20 joints - making the offence punishable by a fine of $150 for an adult or $100 for a youth.But, unlike last summer when the laws were in limbo and the drug was smoked freely on the streets, police are aggressively laying marijuana charges. So, those who take part in public 4:20 events will be risking a brush with the law.Robin Ellins of the Friendly Stranger Cannabis Culture Shop in Toronto said 4:20 celebrations have existed for about six years in Canada and the United States."This has been flying under the radar of parents for a long time," he said. "I find that kind of interesting because it's huge within the culture, everybody knows about it."The origins of the 4:20 tradition are part mystery and part urban myth. Some say it is the number of a police call used in California during the 1960s.But "the most believable explanation that I've heard is that three guys that went to university in California would meet up at 4:20 for a joint between classes and that started a trend," Ms. Roach said.Regular users say 4:20 p.m. -- or a.m. -- is traditionally the perfect time of day for lighting up. Doing it on April 20 compounds the experience."All of the different cannabis-related businesses usually do something on this day," Mr. Ellins said. "It's definitely a North American phenomenon. It's gone so far that there's rolling papers [with 4:20 on them] and it's embroidered on T-shirts."Scott Hearty, the manager of Blunt Brothers, a marijuana café in Vancouver, said he expects an extraordinary number of customers today.April 20 is special to marijuana users, Mr. Hearty said. "Everyone has their own strains to sample and they get together and generally have a smoke-out." As to whether it's a social or a political event, he said it's both.Some people "look forward to spending the day smoking spliffs and enjoying life. Truly, it should be more political," Mr. Hearty said.But "there's different ways to acknowledge the day. It doesn't matter if you are sitting at home, as long as you're thinking, frame-of-mind-wise, about what's going on and how you can help."Note: Day marks occasion of celebration and protest among marijuana users in North America.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Gloria GallowayPublished: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - Page A8 Copyright: 2004 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:CannabisNews Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmSmokers Celebrate Joys of Marijuana on Holiday http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18681.shtmlPot Smokers Abuzz Over 420 'Holiday'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18678.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on April 20, 2004 at 14:36:58 PT: This is the Transnational Holiday for Cannabists (Or THC, of course.) So, hoist the bong or spliff, hookah or sherlock, brothers and sisters!But, in our revels, let us also not forget The Honored Dead. The innocents whose lives were taken by the antis in pursuit of their twisted Drug-Free utopia:http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/08/17/drugWarVictims.htmlAnd God alone knows how many we don't know about, 'straight' and cannabists alike, who've been slaughtered for this American Jihad against a plant the Almighty put here for a bloody good reason.Someday, I hope it will be possible to lay a cannabis wreath at the graves of The Fallen, in rememberance of the sick and twisted laws which allowed their murder in order to 'save' them.May God have mercy on the antis, for some know not what they do... [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 20, 2004 at 13:31:39 PT Happy 4:20 Everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 20, 2004 at 13:23:10 PT kapt They are doing that for me now too. That's weird. They were cute pictures. I wonder why they aren't showing up? [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by ekim on April 20, 2004 at 13:13:04 PT well said Kapt ---4-20 to all---- Democratic Party needs "backbone" to counter Bush's PATRIOT Act campaign April 20, 2004 As President Bush today continued his campaign to extend and expand the controversial Patriot Act, Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich called on his own Party to end its silence, "show some backbone," and call for the law's repeal.The President is campaigning across the country urging Congress to renew and add new provisions to the act, including allowing administrative subpoenas to be issued without a judge's or a grand jury's approval, Kucinich said. "It's time for the Democratic Party to take a stand. It's wrong for the United States government to ask us our citizens to defend our country and then to ignore and violate the very rights we are called upon to defend.Kucinich, campaigning in Oregon, said "It's unmistakably clear" from his travels across the nation "that there is an almost universal rejection of the Patriot Act." He added, "Democrats can strengthen the Party's commitment to basic civil liberties by standing for the repeal of the Patriot Act and by blocking the government's attempt to continue pursuing a policy of unreasonable search and seizure, of snooping into the private lives of our citizens, and of violating our Constitutional rights and freedoms."Kucinich pointed out that "As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I spoke against it, I voted against it, and I introduced legislation for its repeal." The law, he said, "was passed in a climate of fear, and it instills fear in the hearts of law-abiding citizens."It's time for the leadership of the Democratic Party and the members of Congress who voted for the Act to acknowledge that its enactment was "a grave mistake that can be rectified if the courage is there to do the right thing – repeal it." http://www.mmdetroit.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on April 20, 2004 at 12:58:49 PT: Sorry, FoM, they don't go through The links seem to dead end...at least on my box. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 20, 2004 at 12:34:08 PT I Think of This Picture Too When I Hear Pothead I just couldn't resist the humor! LOL!http://www.worth1000.com/entries/51500/51572NSUR_w.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 20, 2004 at 12:18:13 PT What My Mind's Eyes Sees When I Hear Pothead http://www.worth1000.com/entries/51500/51795vbDA_w.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on April 20, 2004 at 11:59:57 PT: A 420 Day proposition for all cannabists If you are not African-American, ask a Black person how they feel about being called a n****r. A Jew about being called a 'k**e'. A Hispanic person about being called a 'S**c'. You get the idea.No, I am not being facetious. I am not joking. I have not had any of Nature's Best Medicine in weeks. I am completely 'unaugmented'. (I promised people here I would not use the word 'sober', and I keep my promises.)If you are unwilling to do so, I perfectly understand. Because even by your (sensible) choice in not doing so, you make my point for me. The inexcusable vulgarity of it is enough for most people to shun those who use those words. And the point is? JUST AS THE OTHER MINORITES IN THE PAST, WE MUST FORCIBLY CHANGE THE LANGUAGE BY WHICH WE ARE REFERRED TO."Pothead". My Fellow Cannabists, you know what the stereotype entails. I won't belabor it. But one of our problems has always been that *we have allowed that stereotype to stand unchallenged *for far too long.*I am reminded of something that had been reported in a previous article here at CNEWS. A Congressional staffer, when admitting cannabis law reformers to the legislator's office, off-handedly announced "The potheads are here."Now imagine this: Said reformers turn and face this staffer, who, like his principal, is paid from taxpayer's dollars, and with coldly measured words ask them why he or she feels safe in insulting a taxpaying member of the electorate with a word that is, to us, synonymous with the word 'n****r'? The effect would be electrifying, particularly if it were repeated in other offices. The word would get around fast: It's not politically safe to insult drug law reformers...not at all. They get mean.Unless we quit licking the semantic spittle of the adjectives used to belittle and marginalize us off of our faces, we will always be easily dismissed 'potheads', not people to be taken seriously.My proposition? To promise not to use that word to refer to ourselves ever again. For the change must begin with us, before we ask - or demand! - that others do the same. Will you join me? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 20, 2004 at 09:15:43 PT News Brief from The Buffalo News Pro-Marijuana Smoke-Out Planned April 20, 2004 Niagara Falls, Ont. - Canadian pro-marijuana activists will stage a smoke-out on the Canada-U.S. border in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge at 4:20 p.m. today to call attention to marijuana issues. The smoke-out will follow a march along Highway 420 to the bridge. Organizers say that 4/20 has long been used as an underground shorthand for marijuana. Speakers will include pro-legalization New Democratic political candidate Rui Pires of Toronto; Canadian federal medical marijuana exemptees Alison Myrden, Marco Renda and Steven Bacon, who will talk about the ineffectiveness of the medical marijuana program; and Matt Mernagh, founder of the Niagara Compassion Center. Event organizer Marko Ivancicevic, noting that more than 2 million Canadians smoke marijuana, said, "I believe that there's a lot of very useful information for people to learn about the marijuana issue and the negative effects of prohibition." http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040420/9045014.asp [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Truth on April 20, 2004 at 07:52:33 PT but today -- called 4:20 by those in the know -- but today -- called 4:20 by those in the know -- is a high holy day And that IS the Truth [ Post Comment ] Post Comment