Today is April 20, known to marijuana users as "4/20," a counterculture holiday recognizing America's most commonly used illegal drug. The number "420" is code for marijuana, and was most likely invented in the 1970s at San Rafael High School in Marin County, Calif., where a group of students known as the Waldos met at 4:20 p.m. to light up. A dime bag's worth of other marijuana facts:
1. In 19th century Nepal, the marijuana harvest was performed by men who ran naked through fields of flowering plants and then had the sticky resin scraped off their bodies and formed into bricks of hashish.
2. Marijuana is known for its mellowing effect, but it has fueled many warriors in history. The word "assassin" is believed to come from the hashish taken a millennium ago by Arab killers (called "hashshashin" or "hashish eaters"), though some historians doubt they were under the influence while on their missions.
3. Louisa May Alcott, author of "Little Women," wrote a short story called "Perilous Play" about marijuana. In it, a character declares, "If someone does not propose a new and interesting amusement, I shall die of ennui!" Another character produces a box of hashish-laced bonbons, and hedonism ensues.
4. Around 1900, the U.S. government briefly grew marijuana along a stretch of the Potomac River to study the plant's medicinal value. Today, a more potent plant has risen on that site: the Pentagon.
5. A white Chicago jazz musician named Milton "Mezz" Mezzrow moved to Harlem in 1929, declared himself a "voluntary Negro," and began selling marijuana. Known as "The Man Who Hipped the World" and "The Link Between the Races," Mezzrow sold fat joints called mezzrolls. Soon a new piece of Harlem slang emerged: Something genuine was described as "mezz."
6. Marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just said or did. Not only that, marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just said or did.
7. Before Congress voted to ban marijuana in 1937, the birdseed industry got the bill amended to exempt marijuana seeds (known as hemp seeds) as long as they were sterilized and could not be used to grow plants. An industry spokesman denied that the seeds made birds high, but an ardent marijuana foe, Dr. Victor Robinson, had previously written that the seeds had caused birds to "dream of a happy birdland where there are no gilded cages, and where the men are gunless and the women hatless."
8. Billy Carter, the late brother of former President Jimmy Carter, believed the illegality of marijuana was part of its attraction. "Marijuana is like Coors beer," he said. "If you could buy the damn stuff at a Georgia filling station, you'd decide you wouldn't want it."
9. One of the least typical supporters of the decriminalization of marijuana was conservative icon William F. Buckley, who died in February. Buckley once sailed his yacht into international waters so that he could smoke pot without breaking U.S. laws.
10. Bill Clinton said famously that he smoked marijuana but "didn't inhale." President Bush has never admitted taking the drug, but his drug use was strongly suggested in recorded conversations between him and a friend - the interestingly named Doug Wead. Only one of the three 2008 contenders is an admitted ex-doper. Barack Obama has said, "When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point."
Comments
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weatherguy48 (anonymous) says…
hehehehehehehehehehe
poop2scoop (anonymous) says…
One of the most shameful hypocrisies in law enforcement is that so many police, lawyers, judges and legislators secretly use it, but they arrest, prosecute and incarcerate others for it.
maxcrabb (anonymous) says…
What's marijuana?
1wetwilly (anonymous) says…
Include former President Clinton, current President Bush and presidential candidate Senator Oboma as users.
geekin_topekan (anonymous) says…
Thomas Jefferson was an avid smoker,but it was legal back then.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
there are people who have never tried marijuana.
jonas (anonymous) says…
1wetwilly: I think he just did. mom-of-three: There definitely should be people who never try marijuana.
thebcman (anonymous) says…
I credit marijuana for helping me forget everything i learned in high school and college.Happy 4-20 !!
1wetwilly (anonymous) says…
jonas,You are right. I was trying to point out the modern day "Presidential" users of marijuanna. That -right or wrong- marijuanna use was admitted by US Presidents Clinton and Bush and presidential candidates Gore, Kerry and Oboma.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
It's just pot. Why so people get so worked up about it?
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
OK, really, I wasn't smoking anything when I wrote that last post.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
always believed I was in the minority of non-users, but perhaps it is more of a majority?
imagold (anonymous) says…
I had to read #6 over and over and over and over...
user_name (anonymous) says…
multidisciplinary: It was quite amusing because you were high.mother of three...pin a rose on your nose LOLmyself, I was quite the pothead several years ago but sadly it makes me too paranoid nowadays...
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
alas, user, I was always too paranoid to try it....the fear of getting caught was a big deterrant...wouldn't do it now, though, either....
poop2scoop (anonymous) says…
How prevalent is marijuanna use today among high schoolers and college students? As far back as 35 years ago it was fairly common among a lot of draftees I knew.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
under this article as I got it google ads: campus place apartments, and this¢ CannabisBrowse a huge selection now. Find exactly what you want today.www.eBay.com--that's funny! anybody bought/sold on ebay?
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
wow, just posted and message not here. was showing 4;23, so was disappointed I had missed 4;20. maybe got nixed because I refed the google ad for canibus, find great deals on ebay! ***mom, you're not the only one. several times at parties and just in secluded places, I was around people smoking pot, but never smoked it, though was offered. before high school, my father had a good talk with me about it and other drugs. thank God. there were three high schools in salinas, the nearest big city there in central ca. Salinas high had the children of the packers, and was known to have lots of the hard drugs. alisal high school, where I went, had a majority hispanic population and was very well known for the availablity of pot there. north high mostly had the offspring of the oakies, so was more alcohol.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
really, I swear it wasn't there before! that's funny under an article about pot! there are some places in east lawrence where it appears to be growing wild.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
does b3 drink? It doesn't have to be alcohol, either. Caffeine is a drug, too.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
gnome, the ljworld.com FlashPlayer gnomes were messing with you. It would be cool if they fixed it, rather than me having to mess with my own computer so I can visit the site without my webrowser crashing.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
not so easily fixed. in ad/remove software, I click on flashplayer 9, and it just sits there. I can't use add/remove software to dump flash outa my system! big brother is here, and he runs flashplayer.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
Sorry, multi, haven't gotten around to it, yet. I was just kind of irritated that I needed to change things on my end.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
gnome,It was around my high school, too, but just never really interested me (and I was terrified of getting caught anyway.) My dad told me a story about when he tried it after he and my mom divorced, and his experience scared me to death. He could have been exagerating to a 12 year old, but I also figured it wasn't worth the risk. I have been lucky so far in that my kids aren't interested in drugs. Before you tell me that I am naive, my step brother died of an accidental drug overdose almost 3 years ago, and I think the agony and pain that the family members experience at such a young death is almost enough to keep any kid from trying anything.
Puff_Dragon (anonymous) says…
Why doesn't Lawrence celebrate 420?http://rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/20/firefighters-battling-boulder-blaze/
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…
Okay, my posts are all gone from this thread. But they still appear in my profile. The funny thing is that my second post to this thread (which was the fifth overall when I posted) was about *another* member's post disappearing.gnome, you can get a progam from the Flash website that will remove all instances of Flashplayer from your system, works better than using the add/remove programs in Windows.Direct link to the uninstaller:http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/current/uninstall_flash_player.exeOr to the uninstall instruction page:http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14157Of course, if this post dpesn't appear in this thread, those links aren't going to help much...
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…
Okay, and the post *did* appear, until I refreshed, but now it's gone again. WTF? All the posts that are gone still show up under my profile. Too strange.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
NAJ: Multi told me about another way to fix the problem (I've been putting it off), but I've been visiting the same time warps recently. WTF were my thoughts exactly.
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…
RedwoodCoast, now both of the posts I just made (6:57 and 7:01) are there, but the two I made this morning (10:33 and 11:34) are still gone, but they *all* appear under my profile.Also, another weird thing. When posts get deleted (either red-lined or when they're completely gone, like when a member gets disappeareded), the count doesn't change. Right now (excluding this post) I see the count at 41, while there's actually 39. I know there's more than two missing, since my own two and at least one from le are not showing up.
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…
Never mind.Okay, now I feel really stupid. And I'm not even indulging in the topic of this thread. The earlier two posts I was referring to are in a different thread. :(
Gina (Gina Bailey-Carbaugh) says…
Bearded, marijuana grows wild in Kansas, its called ditch weed.
lounger (anonymous) says…
I love the number six on the list. Did I mention I liked the number six on the list?
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
thanks, didn't know the alternate name! ***thanks nota/MD. I had to go to the macromedia site, downloaded it, and now I'm *FREE*! wow, pages load faster now! yay! never gonna accept flashplayer again! huurrraaaaah! besides the trouble described on here, it was jacking with couple other programs on my system too, and I suspect causing some lockups. ***yes, you'd think that while boog was mayor he would've instituted a 4;20 celebration for lawrence! ***no Mom, chosing not to indulge in weed doesn't mean you're naive. my father was a parole officer, so he had some very good stories to tell that really stuck in a 13-year-old's head, to this day.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
If Boog were in California (or probably any other medical state) I'm sure he could get the recommendation with few questions asked.And I think that much of the wild k-pot out there came from during the war effort around 1943-44. They were using it as fiber for parachutes and whatnot. It liked Kansas so well, it volunteered to stay. Then it winds up in hay that farmers feed to their animals, and there you go, k-pot all over the farm.Multi, I had no idea about the train people. Drivin' that train, high on... well, definitely high on something.
emily_litella (anonymous) says…
what's all this talk about # 6?
coolmarv (anonymous) says…
I got high the first time on a bong. Thinking of that sound still cracks me up. I have not 'smoked' for over 20 years though. It was mostly a peer thing. Hung around the wrong crowd. Yes, it was the 'wrong' crowd.
Newcomb (anonymous) says…
Make it legal and tax the bejeesus out of it. By the way, how's that war on drugs going? Probably as well as the war on Iraq I would assume.
KSChick1 (anonymous) says…
hemp used to be a cash crop across this country, until the gov figured out people were smoking ithence the saying "Smoking rope"most of what grows wild now is so low in THC that the kids that try to pick it and smoke it right away aren't going to get anything off of it but a headacheit is a noxious weed but I used to not think that, spent my time around a campfire or two tokin it upjust had to grow up and realize I didn't want to live life that way, searching for it, smokin it, being paranoid, not paying the electric bill to buy it-just don't want to live that wayReality bites, but at least I'm here and in my right mind to deal with it!
fu7il3 (anonymous) says…
"You know what would have been really interesting to write about? Howsabout the fact that in thousands of years of recorded history, no one has ever died from marijuana, yet you can enjoy all the tobacco you care to, despite the fact that it kills over 400,000 Americans a year."I think I read somewhere that one marijuana joint is equivalent to five cigarettes as far as damage to your lungs. It's not the cigarettes, it's the lung cancer. Besides, nearly every person I have ever known that smokes marijuana regularly smokes cigarettes, as well.I'm not saying that marijuana is worse than cigarettes. I'm just saying it is almost impossible to tell if someone has died of marijuana use due to lung problems caused by inhalation of a burning substance.
fu7il3 (anonymous) says…
I wasn't aware that tobacco itself is ever listed on coroner's reports. I always thought it said, "lung canger" or "emphyzema." Sure the person is a smoker, so if they die of lung cancer, heart disease, etc., it is assumed that the cigarette's killed them. However, if a person dies of any of that, it's not like their family is going to say, "He smoked marijuana all of his life." You aren't going to get the same disclosure between an illegal drug and a legal drug.That being said, in my experience, I don't know one single person who regularly smokes weed who doesn't smoke cigarettes. I know lots of people who drink who don't smoke at all, so they are hardly similar. One is drinking alcohol, the other is inhaling smoke. I'd say that if you inhale one type of smoke, your chances of inhaling other types are greater. After all, what is really the difference besides the legality of it all?If anything, marijuana poses a more immediate threat because people who are stoned have impaired reaction times, while people who are smoking cigarettes are mostly just distracted.
a_flock_of_jayhawks (anonymous) says…
Hemp was a major cash crop in this area during the early to mid 1800's. In fact, for Platte County, MO, it was the county's #1 cash crop for some time.
geniusmannumber1 (anonymous) says…
Students say there's there's lots to do without marijuana! You could climb a tree in South Park! You could go for a scooter race!Seriously, though, I'm not sure who's more depressing--the ones arguing "drugs are bad, m'kay," or the tired hippie fabrications "supporting" legalization, like "bro, Thomas Jefferson, like, totally liked to party, man.""Martha Washington was a hip, hip lady, man..."
fu7il3 (anonymous) says…
I can't point a single death to twinkies either, but that doesn't mean they haven't been a contributing factor in deaths related to diabetes and obesity.
fu7il3 (anonymous) says…
I didn't say that marijuana should, or should not be illegal. I simply said it would be an overgeneralization to claim that marijuana has never been related to any death ever. While no one has ever OD'd on it, plenty of people have wrecked cars while high or messed up their lungs with it.Perhaps it should be legalized. Perhaps beer, cigarettes, twinkies, and marijuana should all be illegal. That's not my call. Quite frankly, I don't think it makes a difference one way or another. People will still use all of them either way.
acg (anonymous) says…
I don't know one single pot smoker that neglects to pay their bills in order to buy weed. Every pot smoker I know is adult, professional and responsible. So, please don't lump us all together with the beevis & butthead type stoners that sit around all day on the couch saying "dude" 100 times a minute. I also know many smokers that don't smoke cigarettes and don't allow them in their houses or cars. So, please don't make the hasty assumption that all pot smokers also smoke cigarettes, because it isn't true. And fu7il3, just FYI, on the KS Death Certificate, there's a place that you check that asks if tobacco related to that person's death, so regardless of whether or not the official cause of death was lung cancer or respiratory failure, they still mark whether or not tobacco contributed to that death.
geniusmannumber1 (anonymous) says…
That's because the UK is the very definition of a nanny state. I hardly think we should be emulating them in ... well, anything. I can't think of a single thing about UK society or policy that I'd transplant here. Maybe their secularism. That's pretty much it.
Jcjayhawk1 (anonymous) says…
Lets not forget the TRUE gateway drugs. Alcohol and Cigarettes. Each on their own kill more people annually than all other drugs combined. Non-violent offenders help contribute to the overcrowded prison population with mandatory minimums bunking up with violent perps and pedos. It's a damn shame.
Jcjayhawk1 (anonymous) says…
Don't support the recreational use of marijuana? Then throw away all of your art, music, theater, and literature. Marijuana without a doubt has inspired and helped create some of the most masterful works of art through out time. A few notable inspired and enhanced artists....Etta JamesJackson BrowneThe BeatlesEagles cmon! Hotel California......forgetabaaaat it.ElvisThe lists go on and on......
pisafromthewest (anonymous) says…
Jcjayhawk1 (Anonymous) says: "Don't support the recreational use of marijuana? Then throw away all of your art, music, theater, and literature. Marijuana without a doubt has inspired and helped create some of the most masterful works of art through out time."I hope you're just as supportive of the military, since the overwhelming portion of modern technology, including the computer you're sitting at, probably wouldn't exist as we know it if it hadn't been driven by military needs.
maxcrabb (anonymous) says…
The army pushes technology innovation to KILL people, not to bless us with faster internet.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
The government actually invented the term "trip." It was back when the Army and the CIA were investigating the use of LSD and other nonlethal mind-altering subsances as chemical weapons. The motivation was actually "war without death." You can go on YouTube and watch an experiment wherein some army guys were given LSD and then told to practice some combat tactics. It's pretty hilarious.And anyone who think pot should be illegal has been subject of manipulation by the government and media. Its illegality is the result of cultural tensions and not danger to the populous.Not all people who smoke pot say dude all the time or even celebrate 4/20. Some pot-smokers think it's a stoner holiday and ignore it completely.
riverdrifter (anonymous) says…
Multi,The same tale was circulated on the Santa Fe. Truth be known, the railroads seeded hemp on newly rebuilt right-of-way berms to hold stop erosion 70-80 years ago and it's still there today -ditchweed. They gave up spraying it as the paraquat/crossbow drift killed farmers crops. When I was in highschool we picked ditchweed in the fall at night and sold it to dealers who would then cut 'good stuff' with it. One of the guys I sold to was on 'Sixty Minutes' and then that crazy Vern Miller came to life. I quit picking right then and there. I don't do reefer -drives my tinitus through the roof. A Booker Noes sidecar works a lot better here in my pre-dotage years.
pisafromthewest (anonymous) says…
maxcrabb (Anonymous) says: "The army pushes technology innovation to KILL people, not to bless us with faster internet."And something tells me that the average weed grower/seller has motives that have nothing to do with the advancement culture, painting, or music.
RiverCityConservative (anonymous) says…
I am in favor of the decriminalization of marijuana. I thinkthose who feel this way should be encouraged to persevere in their determination to increase our understanding of this important issue.There are problems not only with the economic burdens of anti-marijuana policies, but also the social costs of making this a political football game and incarcerating thousands of good people instead of treating their use of marijuana as a matter of personal freedom or a mental health concern.In a free society, the domain within which individuals make their own choices will be fairly large. From reports I have read, the marijuana "high" is somewhat similar to the natural feeling perhaps all of us experience walking in a park or in the countryside on slightly breezy autumn or spring days, leaves or blossoms drifting through the air around us.The fact that this feeling is available without marijuana suggests the plant's effects could serve to remind people of a basic relationship to nature and what it means to be human, to be living.We might rightly ask why marijuana users feel a need for these reminders, but it makes no more sense to prosecute, fine and imprison people for this behavior than it would to treat alcohol and tobacco users with similarly punitive measures. A reasoned exchange of ideas in a context of mutualrespect can lead to a new approach to marijuana in America.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
Pisa: Having lived for a while in the mecca of US pot growing, Humboldt County, CA, I can attest that there certainly are people out there who just want to make a buck on the plant. I did, however, know quite a few "Rastafarians" (if white middle class kids can be rastas) who took absolute pride in the quality of the stuff they grew. They wanted it to go into particular circles where they knew it would be most appreciated. So, yes, to some "weed" growers, the promotion of culture, painting, and music is a priority.I am in favor of people being allowed to grow it if they want. I met a lot of growers out in California, and I would take pleasure if some of those folks didn't benefit from its illegality. They were just complete @sses--not violent people--just horses' @sses.
TonyGaines (Tony Gaines) says…
"Marijuana is not a drug! Drug's are manufactured with chemicals. It's a plant, it grows from the earth. However, if you should so happen to set it on fire, there are some side effects. Hungry, happy, sleepy, that's it!" LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
The expression derives from the1979trial ofDan White,a formerSan Francisco, California(U.S.) Supervisor whoassassinatedMayorGeorge Mosconeand SupervisorHarvey MilkonNovember 27,1978.At the trial, noted psychiatristMartin Blindertestified that White had been depressed at the time of the crime, and pointed to several factors indicating White's depression: He had quit his job, heshunned his wife, and become slovenly in appearance. Normally a fitness fanatic andhealth foodadvocate, White had also been consumingTwinkiesandCoca-Cola.As an incidental note, Blinder mentioned theories that elements of diet could worsen existing mood swings.[2]the twinkie defense.twinkies can kill after all.