History and roots of 420 in cannabis culture and activism

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See also: 420 and Global Cannabis March event lists by year.

History of 420

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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.

History of 420 events

Canada

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1995. Vancouver, Canada

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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. ..."

Image caption at source of first 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".

Marc Emery and Danna Rozek. 1995 or early 1996. At Hemp BC.
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.
Cindy Lassu in 1995. See source article.
Vancouver, Canada. April 20, 1995. See info below.

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

Return to top. San Francisco, California. 1997 event:

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.”
2015 September. Left to right: Debby Goldsberry, Sarah Duff, Dale Sky Jones.

Source of above photo:

1997, 1999. Nimbin, Australia

Return to top. Nimbin, Australia.

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.

Max Stone at week-long protest (New South Wales Drug Summit) in June 1999 at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, Australia.
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420 today

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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.

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:

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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Flat list. All event graphics and photos. In alphabetical order by city. More flat lists:


Cannabis is safer

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Note: The following sections are at: Cannabis and more. The big picture.

Trump Calls for Death Penalty for Drugs (Again). And: Trump’s Ominous Acting-DEA Administrator Appointment. [4][5][6]. And: Trump: “We’re going to be asking everyone who sells drugs, gets caught, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts”.

See article: Cannabis is safer. Cannabis is just one aspect of the drug war. See also: Beyond drug war, debt, and wealth concentration. To single-payer healthcare and progressive taxation. See: History of US Republican-led war on cannabis, and their lies about its health effects. Note the Republican states (in the South, for example) in the map below.

Wikipedia: Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction. Note lack of more progressive laws in US Republican states (in the South for example). See many US maps showing the failings of GOP states. See MPP article on state CBD/low THC laws. Laws on hemp derivatives: [7][8][9][10][11][12]. See safety concerns of unregulated market (chemicals not found in hemp). Share link.
Map of cannabis laws in the US

       Legal for recreational use
       Legal for medical use
       No comprehensive medical program
  ●   Decriminalized

Map reflects laws of states and territories, including laws not in effect yet. Does not reflect federal, tribal, local laws. Map does not show legality (varies by state) of hemp-derived phytocannabinoids [13] such as CBD or delta-8-THC, which have been legal at federal level since the 2018 Farm Bill. See PNG map (for Facebook).
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GOP War on the Poor

Return to top. Section link. See also: Trump GOP war on poor, sick, disabled, and drug users. Republican war on the poor, and middle class. Since low minimum wages lower wages above it too. The inflation-adjusted US minimum wage peaked at over $14 in 1968 (see chart on page 2). It has halved in real value down to $7.25 today. The stolen wages went to Trump's billionaire club, and stayed there due to Reagan and Trump's gutting of progressive taxation via tax cuts for the rich. See CRS chart.

"Study after study has found that raising minimum wages has a positive effect on employment." - John Driscoll, of Patriotic Millionaires.org - Sep 12, 2024 article. See Facebook: Patriotic Millionaires. And see many maps showing the failings of Republican states. [14] [15]. GOP states overall (as in the South) have the worst cannabis laws, lowest minimum wages, worst healthcare, etc..

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World billionaires. Number and total wealth by year. Trillions of dollars.
JPG image on Commons.

Billionaire tax rates

Return to top. Section link. See Wikipedia: Wealth inequality in the United States.

A 2021 investigation using leaked IRS documents found more than half of the richest 100 Americans use grantor retained annuity trusts to avoid paying estate taxes when they die. Also, they avoid paying taxes on capital gains with the "Buy, Borrow, Die" technique. [16][17][18] [19][20][21] [22][23][24].

  • Buy or earn capital assets like stocks and real estate, and then never sell because assets do not count as income until sold.
  • Using capital assets as collateral to borrow spending money at interest rates considerably lower than the tax rate; loans are not taxed as income.
  • Holding capital assets until after death, when a "step-up in basis" zeroes out the accumulated gains and allows heirs to not pay any capital gains tax.

The top 10% own 68% of U.S. wealth! How this plutocracy of the top 10% is maintained: The minimal billionaire tax rates are maintained by the anti-democratic Presidential veto which can only be overridden by a 2/3rds vote. Also, the antidemocratic 60% filibuster rule: What is the US Senate filibuster, and what would it take to eliminate it? Steep progressive tax rates on all types of billionaire income and wealth could be imposed by a simple majority through the nuclear option in the Senate. Or by budget reconciliation bills. The same bills Trump used to give yet more tax breaks to the rich.

Second chart below shows the absurdly low tax rate that billionaires pay on ALL their income, including untaxed capital and wealth gains.

True US federal income tax rates for 4 very rich people if all wealth gains are counted as income. 2014 to 2018. See source. B=Billion. M=Million.
See this template. See Commons PNG image (for social media).

Republican states 2026

Return to top. Section link. Republicans have blocked federal cannabis descheduling and state legalization. 2026 is a chance to get a Democratic (both meanings) Congress, and state legislatures. See Wikipedia's list of Republican and Democratic states. But Republicans are on a massive voter purging campaign for 2026. Confirm your voter registration and re-register early.

See article: US Republican (GOP) states. It is not just cannabis prohibition. Many maps showing the failings of GOP states. See category of these GOP-notated US maps. See category of these maps on the Wikimedia Commons.

In 2024 presidential election only 2 states voted unanimously red (Republican) or blue (Democrat) by county: Massachusetts and Oklahoma. You can google each of the rankings in the image below, and see that they are correct.

2024 election: Oklahoma map. And: Massachusetts map.
See JPG image (good for Facebook posting, etc.).
See Wikipedia: Fight for $15. US map below is percent of workers earning less than $15 per hour.
See map on Wikimedia Commons. And map with GOP notations.

All wealth to the top

Return to top. Section link. See Wikipedia: List of countries by household debt. All those stolen wages and tax breaks went to the billionaire club that loaned it back to us. March 4, 2025: Since 1975, $79 Trillion Has Flowed From Bottom 90% to Top 1% in US: Analysis. Stephen Colbert satire video on billionaires. [25]. See Forbes billionaire list. See Forbes real-time billionaires ranking. Republicans, backed by their billionaire buddies, have prevented the $7.25 an hour US federal minimum wage from increasing since 2009. $7.25 is the minimum wage in 20 Republican states.
First chart below: "BREAKING: Billionaires in America now own a record $9.2 TRILLION in wealth. That's up 32% over the last year. The country's GDP has only risen 6% in that time. Tax breaks for the wealthy don't trickle down to working people. They just create trillionaires."

Debt slavery by the rich

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Tariffs (regressive taxes), low minimum wages, high medical and student loan debts. Republicans like them all. All wealth to the top. Loaned back to us to enslave us. Healthcare Insights: How Medical Debt Is Crushing 100 Million Americans.

See Wikipedia: List of countries by household debt. All those stolen wages went to the billionaire club that loaned it back to us. The US federal government debt surpassed $40 trillion on August 18, 2026.

Wikipedia: Household debt in the United States.
See latest free PNG Commons image. For social media.
Wikipedia: National debt of the United States.
See latest Commons image. See free PNG image. For social media.

The poor and the middle class pay the taxes that the wealthy should be paying instead. Wages are not keeping up because the US federal minimum wage (at $7.25 an hour since 2009) has not been raised. 20 Republican states use the federal minimum wage. It acts as a floor for wages above it. So middle class wages don't rise enough. See Wikipedia: Fight for $15.

Canadian healthcare

Save $1.7 trillion yearly

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Save $1.7 trillion yearly in the US. Canada spent 11.3 percent of its GDP for total healthcare costs in 2024. US spent 17.2 percent in 2024. 5.9% is the difference. 5.9% of 2024 US GDP of $29 trillion is $1.7 trillion dollars. Universal single-payer healthcare savings, and progressive taxation, could pay off the $40 trillion US national debt (surpassed on August 18, 2026). Total average healthcare spending per person in 2024: $7,301 for Canada. $14,885 for the US. Yet Canadians have a longer average lifespan. Share link.

Save another couple hundred billion dollars a year by making age 17 the age of adulthood. This saves $15,663 on average in taxes for one year of US high school. Parents save a year of living expenses. Use it all for college and trade schools which is much more useful and desired. Cut taxes further by lowering US incarceration rates to Canadian and Western European levels. The US can have BETTER healthcare, at a much cheaper cost by cutting out the useless middlemen (insurance companies).

Canadians are richer, healthier, safer than Americans. Their universal healthcare.
Their far lower murder rate due to much lower percentage with handguns. 2.

Share: link to this chart. Or article link.
Country Median wealth per adult.
US dollars. 		Healthcare cost per person.
US dollars PPP.
Canada $147,811 (2025) $7,301 (2024)
USA $68,998 (2025) $14,885 (2024)
Country Maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births. Life expectancy.
Canada 11.8 (2023) 82 years (2024)
USA 16.6 (2023) 79 years (2024)
Country Under-5 mortality rate per 1000 live births. Murder rate per 100,000.
Canada 5.4 (2024) 1.9 (2024)
USA 6.5 (2024) 5.9 (2024)

Canada vs US GOP

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How Medical Debt Is Crushing 100 Million Americans. Wikipedia: List of countries by total health expenditure per capita. US dollars (PPP) per person per year. OECD countries and more. Total public and private spending.
See this template. See PNG chart with notes. Wikimedia: Plain PNG chart.

See Wikipedia: Medical debt. Read a UnitedHealthcare denial horror story, and many more. [30][31]. Stats article: "The company dismissed about one in every three claims in 2023 — the most of any major insurer. That's twice the industry average of 16%". US Republicans Voted Often to Kill Coverage of Pre-Existing Conditions. [32][33][34]. See: As Premiums Soar and Millions Lose Coverage, Over Half of Americans Say End Private Health Insurance.

See JPG image (for social media).
Source, comments. See JPG image (for social media).

Roswell. Warming

Carbon-free energy

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And here on earth:
China’s BYD has a $16K “Tesla-killer,” as IEA finds EVs are an Oil Company-Killer.

See JPG file.
See JPG file.

Section link. Much UFO technology has been back engineered, and its carbon-free energy could end global warming. See Steven Greer (SG) documentary: The Lost Century: And How to Reclaim It. [35][36][37][38][39]. SG documentaries for free: Tubi & [40][41][42][43][44] [45][46][47][48] [49][50][51]. JustWatch: [52][53][54] [55][56][57]. More SG media: [58][59][60] [61][62][63]. SG video channels: [64][65][66][67][68]. SG witness testimonies: [69][70][71][72]. His National Press Club events: 2023. 2001. See drstevengreer.com site. [73]. SG interviews: [74][75][76][77] [78][79][80][81]. SG's Disclosure Project Intelligence Archive. [82][83]. More SG info: [84][85][86] [87][88][89][90]. See also the David Grusch, David Fravor, and Ryan Graves disclosures at July 26, 2023 House hearing about US possession of aliens, alien bodies, alien craft, and back engineering: [91][92][93][94] [95][96][97][98][99] [100][101][102][103] [104][105][106]. Disclosure Timeline and Diaries. See: The Battle for Disclosure. (2024). [107]. See "The Program" (2024). [108]. See History channel: [109][110][111] [112][113][114][115]. National Geographic: [116][117][118][119]. See: Bob Lazar and George Knapp [120]. See Rendlesham Forest UFO witness interviews. [121]. See Whitley Strieber interview. See The Age of Disclosure with 34 insiders telling what they know about government knowledge of UFOs/UAPs, crash retrievals, alien bodies, meetings with live aliens, over many decades. It came out Nov 21, 2025 on Amazon Prime. It only costs $5 more to buy it than to rent it, and you will want to see parts of it more than once. Also, see this long interview with the director Dan Farah [122][123] for much more info.

See the July 8, 1947 Roswell Daily Record below. Image info. Click image to enlarge. Full-size is readable. See full text of saucer article. [124]. U.S. Army officer Walter Haut issued the initial "flying disk" press release. His 2002 notarized affidavit said there were 2 crash sites, and that he had seen a craft, alien bodies, and handled wreckage material. (see page 14 of pdf). It was released in a 2007 book after his death in 2005. The 20 paragraph 2002 affidavit is also online here: [125] (page 14). [126][127][128][129][130]. 37 witnesses to the Roswell shape memory foil. [131][132][133] [134][135][136][137]. Page 54 of Jesse Marcel, Jr. book. Crumple it and it uncrumples without creases. Did not exist in 1947.

Walter Haut in 1947. See JPG file.

2002 affidavit is on pages 239-242 of the 2022 edition: Witness to Roswell, 75th Anniversary Edition: Unmasking the Government's Biggest Cover-up (more eyewitnesses). 36 pages previewed in Google Books. Click "preview" button and scroll down to pages 239-240. Search within the book. There is an inexpensive Kindle ebook. Moonwalker Dr. Edgar Mitchell wrote the foreword.

Haut's daughter, Julie Shuster, in 2002, 3 years before his death, "verbally discussed each and every sentence" of the affidavit with him. She said it was not a deathbed confession. See Sept 2007 MUFON UFO Journal. Issue 473. Page 15. And this article from Special Broadcasting Service. Archived. See Julie Shuster on IMDb.

Google search: Walter Haut 2002 Roswell affidavit. Articles about Haut:

30 June 2007: Roswell officer's amazing deathbed admission raises possibility that aliens DID visit. By Nick Pope. Same article also published here and here. Archived here and here.
5 June 2022: Roswell officer's deathbed confession about theory of alien cover up. By Declan Carey. Archived here.
14 May 2021: Ex-Army officer ADMITS he saw ‘alien the size of a 10-year-old child’ after famous Roswell UFO crash in incredible video. By Emma Parry. Archived here. This article has a short excerpt of the video.
May 2021: Roswell Officer Speaks From the Grave: Video Released, Confesses that Alien was "the size of a 10 year old". By Anthony Bragalia. Archived here. From article (emphasis added): "This video clip is part of a memoir video / oral history over two hours in length that covers many personal and professional aspects of Haut's life. The video was taken at the Roswell Museum in 2000 with friends Dennis Balthaser and Wendy Connors."
August 3, 2024: The Roswell UFO story still resonates around the world 77 years later. By John Purvis (CBS4). Archived here. Article is on the KDBC-TV website: cbs4local.com

There are many books uncovering many witnesses to the Roswell crafts, materials, and bodies. A snip from a book review of Roswell: The Chronological Pictorial. 2020. By Thomas J. Carey:

What the Generals Said about Roswell: - "It was a cover story, the balloon part of it ... That was the story we were told to give to the public and the news people, and that was it." Brigadier General Thomas J. DuBose, USAF - "The [Roswell] craft was extraterrestrial, and at one time may have been at Wright-Patterson in an off-limits area." Brigadier General Harry N. Cordes, USAF - "I am almost completely convinced that the object that crashed near Roswell was composed of materials not common on earth." Major General Kenner F. Hertford, USA - "The stuff I saw, I've never seen anyplace else in my life … It was the strangest thing I ever saw." General William H. Blanchard, USAF - "They [the Air Force] knew that they had something new in their hands … The metal and material was unknown to anyone I talked to … A couple of guys thought it might be Russian, but the final consensus was that the pieces were from space." [i.e., extraterrestrial] Brigadier General Arthur E. Exon, USAF - "Stealth technology comes from the Roswell crash … I have been informed by higher officers at the Pentagon that there still exists a Top Secret UFO Project … That's where your Roswell file is."

Galactic Pot March

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