# Where does 4:20 come from?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 5, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449 "2000-06-05T15:50:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Gone\_The\_Sun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Gone\_The\_Sun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone_The_Sun)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449/1 "2000-06-05T15:50:48Z")

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It seems recently I have been hearing and seeing a lot of references to 4:20 pm as the official time to smoke pot/get stoned (ie its 4:19, got a minute?). I was just wondering where this came from? Someone told me they thought it was from an old Grateful Dead song, but based on my searching, I am skeptical of that… also, back in my own bleary eyed dayz, there were no references to 4:20.

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**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2000, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449/2 "2000-06-05T15:53:58Z")

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From my understanding, 420 is a police code for a drug violation. Friends of mine routinely have parties every April 20th for this reason.

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**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449/3 "2000-06-05T16:07:46Z")

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i don’t think so, gazoo.

look here.

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=15267](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=15267)

[http://www.420.com/origin/trueorigin.tpl](http://www.420.com/origin/trueorigin.tpl)

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**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449/4 "2000-06-05T16:13:43Z")

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Boy are my dope-smoking friends going to feel silly when they find out they’re just copying some tradition started by a bunch of high school stoners!

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**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2000, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449/6 "2000-06-06T02:12:30Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> Boy are my dope-smoking friends going to feel silly when they find out they’re just copying some tradition started by a bunch of high school stoners!  
> \*\*

I’m sure it’ll be a lot more amusing after they get high.

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**Author:** ![MysterEcks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MysterEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysterEcks)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2000, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-4-20-come-from/21449/7 "2000-06-06T08:14:06Z")

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Hi there.

Let me just break in for a moment to get it on the record that the MysterEcks who posted above was a fake–a now-departed fake.

See [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=26456](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=26456)

I have no idea what the significance of 4:20 PM is, so I’ll leave now.