History and roots of 420 in cannabis culture and activism

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== History of 420 ==
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*Wikipedia: 420 (cannabis culture).
*420 Waldos, 4/20 Origin, Four Twenty. 420waldos.com
*See 420 event graphics and 420 featured crowd photos. 
*420: Birth of a Stoner Notion. By Steve Bloom. April 20, 2020. Click to enlarge: 
*Huffington Post articles:
**420 Meaning: The True Story Of How April 20 Became ‘Weed Day’. By Ryan Grim. April 20, 2010. Updated April 21, 2017.
**4/20: How ‘Weed Day’ Got Its Name. By Ryan Grim. April 20, 2012. 
**Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Why We Celebrate Weed On 4/20. By Ryan Grim. April 20, 2015.
**A Big Mystery Involving The Origin Of 4/20 Has Finally Been Solved. By Mollie Reilly. April 20, 2016. Updated Jan. 5, 2017. 
*The Long, Strange History of 4/20, the Global Cannabis Holiday. By David Bienenstock. April 18, 2018. At Leafly.
**4/20: The Definitive History of Cannabis’s Biggest Day of the Year. April 18, 2016. At Leafly.
*The history of 420, in Three Acts. April 2015. Freedom Leaf Magazine.
*420 Meaning: The Very Odd Beginnings Of Marijuana’s Global Holiday. By Joel Warner. April 19, 2016. International Business Times.
*What the Guys Who Coined '420' Think About Their Place in Marijuana History. By Olivia B. Waxman. Apr 19, 2017. Time magazine.
*Google search: 420 site:cannabisculture.com in Cannabis Culture magazine online.
Some Waldos, and the 420 flag. Created in San Rafael, California in 1971. The original 420 batik flag was created by Patty Young. See Wikipedia: batik. She is holding the flag in the photo. Along with some Waldos. She created it in 1971 according to the 2012 article linked first below. The photo is from that article too.
*4/20: How ‘Weed Day’ Got Its Name. Apr 20, 2012. By Ryan Grim. Huffington Post.
*Proof of 420's Origin, Four Twenty Meaning. Documented proof. A 420waldos.com page.
*The 420 Founding Fathers. March 30, 2015. By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez. "The Waldo’s 420 Flag was created at San Rafael High School in 1971, and is part of their extensive collection of proof that they invented the term 420."
*Noise & Vocalizations of 420 Waldos. Meaning of "eyot" on the 420 flag. A 420waldos.com page.
== History of 420 events ==
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== 1995. Vancouver, Canada ==
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*Vancouver, Canada. 1995 event: The Origins of 420 as a Day of Celebrating Marijuana. . Archive. 2013 article in Cannabis Culture and Huffington Post. Written from a US federal prison by Marc Emery. From the article (emphasis added): 
One day in early March 1995, Danna [Rozek] and Cindy [Lassu] came to me at my desk at HEMP BC, and we had this exchange I remember vividly. Danna said, "Marc, we'd like to have a 'Four-Twenty' celebration on April 20. ..."
*20th 4/20 marked with mass light-up at Vancouver Art Gallery plaza. "First rally held in 1995 at Victory Square;". CBC News. April 20, 2014.
Image caption at source of photo below ( ): "Smokeless toke: Using a Toke-O-Matic, Hemp BC store owner Marc Emery, 37, and store manager Danna Rozek, 22, toke up some marijuana at the store. his device which is new, allows smoking of pot without actually inhaling any smoke. The pot is heated inside the bowl until the THC active ingredient releases from the pot. Then it’s inhaled through the hose".
[[File:1995. Marc Emery 37 and Danna Rozek 22.jpg|thumb|530px|none|Marc Emery and Danna Rozek. 1995 or 1996. Hemp BC store. Sources: .]]
*Wikipedia: Marc Emery. According to Wikipedia Marc Emery was born on February 13, 1958. So he would have become 37 years old on Feb. 13, 1995. So above photo was taken in 1995 or early 1996.
April 13, 2019 post from Marc Emery with above photo: "Me talking at the First annual Vancouver April 20 in 1995 at Victory Square beside Hemp BC. Danna O’Donnell (nee Rozek) was the inspiration for the April 20, 1995 event. It’s a good funny story I like to tell when regaling people about the origins of April 20."
== 1997. San Francisco, California ==
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*San Francisco, California. 1997 event: The Original 420 Events (in the USA) Took Place in San Francisco. April 17, 2018. By Debby Goldsberry . From the article (Wikipedia links added):
The remaining members of Sublime wanted to perform in San Francisco on 4/20 in 1997 both as a tribute to their fallen bandmate and to launch their new group, the Long Beach Dub Allstars. CAN was experienced at organizing marijuana-themed events in San Francisco. ... I [Debby Goldsberry] said yes right away to produce the Long Beach Dub Allstars 4/20 show. Now we needed a venue, so I called Boots Hughston, who owned San Francisco’s hippie haven, the Maritime Hall. I remember trying to be discreet about the fact that we wanted to hold a big marijuana event at his venue. But when I asked about renting the Hall on April 20, he replied, “Hell yeah! That’s 4/20.”
[[File:2015 September. L-R. Debby Goldsberry, Sarah Duff, Dale Sky Jones.jpg|thumb|none|530px|2015 September. Left to right: Debby Goldsberry, Sarah Duff, Dale Sky Jones.]]
Source of above photo:
*Day One of the 2015 Oregon Medical Marijuana Business Conference is in the Books. September 12, 2015 article.
== 1997, 1999. Nimbin, Australia ==
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*The 420 (R)evolution. (and my part in it.) By Max Stone, April 19, 2018. From the article (emphasis added):
Max Stone, aka GaryBigBong, aka BigBong, aka BB is the man most responsible for the FourTwenties at Mardigrass dating back to 1999 , BB picked 4:20 as the ideal time to 'light up' back in 1997 when he needed to find a time to do a regular live webcam smoking session and BB picked 4:20 because of the 42nessness of 4:20, 42 of course being the answer to the the BIG Question in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.... What is the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything? If you haven't read the book, you ought. I digress...
Anyway, looping back to the beginning of the 420 Demo, back to the 1999 MardiGrass which set the underground tone that has endured to this day, Max Stone usually high jacks the "Main Mardi Grass Speakers" at 4:15.40 and sounds the 4 minute 20 second "roll up" alert for the 4 20 Demonstration. In 1999 we handed out FREE Marijuana, over 200 all natural - all organic cannabis "space balls" each wrapped with a poem called FREE Marijuana. ... 
And so it came to be that in April of the year 2000, on the 20th, at 4:20 in the afternoon, the H*E*M*P Bar started what turned out to be an 8 year and four month long 'live to the web' political demonstration of recreational and medicinal marijuana use....
Above photo posted here on May 10, 2018 on Facebook. It lists people left to right: Simonetta Zigaldo. Ray Manley. No name listed (seated in middle front). Adonia Lyovtzsis. Max Stone.
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== 420 in 2025 ==
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The term 420 has evolved beyond a simple reference to cannabis and now represents an unofficial global holiday observed on April 20th. On this day, enthusiasts and advocates gather to celebrate cannabis culture, while also recognizing the ongoing efforts needed to expand legal access for those who could benefit from its therapeutic properties. Additionally, 420 is commonly associated with an ideal time to partake in cannabis, a tradition rooted in the history of 420.
Article discusses the history of 420 and its many iterations
== Early 420 event graphics ==
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See: :Category: Flat list of 420 event graphics.
Article discusses the first known public 420 event in the USA in 1997 in San Francisco, California. 
Banner below is for an April 20, 1999 event in San Francisco:
[[File:San Francisco 1999 April 20 California.jpg|thumb|none|530px|Graphic is from: The Original 420 Events (in the USA) Took Place in San Francisco. By Debby Goldsberry, April 17, 2018.]]
== Photos and graphics. Flat lists ==
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