4:20

by **Spirit of Me** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 8:18 am

Recently, I was asked about 4:20 by a friend who visited the site, who noted seeing the "term" used frequently in the forums. Other than the apparent reason, I too wanted to know some "history" about the code 4:20. I, the great smacktard geek, thought maybe you all would enjoy some of what I found.

BTW: I'm not ashamed to say I do not support illicit drug use, but as long as you don't hurt someone else what you do in your own domain, I dont give a frogs ass.

The number 420 is a euphemism describing one's support for cannabis and drug culture. The exact origin of the term is unknown, although there is much speculation, and a large number of urban legends surrounding its origin. Although dedicated marijuana smokers partake at almost any time of day, smoking at 4:20 or on April 20 has special meaning to some. Punctual and exacting smokers smoke-out at 4:20 AM, insisting that 4:20 PM is actually 16:20 (24 hour time). Many of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction are set to 4:20.

An origin story according to Snopes.com and The Straight Dope claims that in the early 1970s a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California used to meet every day to smoke marijuana after school at 4:20 PM. The time became a code word for the drug, and usage spread. 4:20 PM has since become a popular time to "smoke out." (It's also worth noting that 4:20 PM is the time of LSD creator Albert Hofmann's first deliberate ingestion of the substance, in 1942; perhaps this is where the San Rafael kids picked up the idea.) Another possible origin of the term can be found in the works of H. P. Lovecraft. A short story of his, entitled "In the Walls of Eryx" and first published in Weird Tales [34, No. 4 (October 1939), pp50-68], contains this passage: I had encountered at least one of those curious mirage-plants about which so many of our men told stories. Anderson had warned me of them, and described their appearance very closely - the shaggy stalk, the spiky leaves, and the mottled blossoms whose gaseous dream-breeding exhalations penetrate every existing make of mask...Although everything was spinning perilously, I tried to start in the right direction and hack my way ahead. My route must have been far from straight, for it seemed hours before I was free of the mirage-plant's pervasive influence. Gradually the dancing lights began to disappear, and the shimmering spectral scenery began to assume the aspect of solidity. When I did get wholly clear I looked at my watch and was astonished to find that the time was only 4:20. Though eternities had seemed to pass, the whole experience could have consumed little more than a half-hour.

In 1955, Raj Kapoor directed a film entitled Shree 420 (Mr. 420), a reference to someone who has a reputation for theft and deception, since apprehensions for such crimes are usually section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

Other theories include:
The number is a police numeric code for a drug bust.
There were, at one time, believed to be 420 chemicals in marijuana.
April 20th, or 4-20, is the last day on which one is supposed to plant cannabis seeds.
April 20th, or 4-20, is the birthday of Adolf Hitler.
The Beatles song "Come Together" is 4:20 in length.

Today many people who smoke marijuana use 420 to symbolize their desire to smoke.

by **SkiloDog2000** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 8:40 am

Yadad is
4:20 is his callsign.

by **inmate#655321** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 9:00 am

I don't smoke anymore. Been clean for years. I've seen friends waste thousands of dollars on weed and never get anywhere in life.

by **MoJo** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 9:05 am

Ive never done weed, never seen weed, and never will do weed thats my policy!

by **red_mist** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:11 pm

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

by **VlfPlyer** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:24 pm

I understand that if your doing alot of "The Pot" all you want to do is sit on your ass, read forums and play computer games all the time.

Now I dunno about the rest who are not on "Grass" and who exibit the same behaviors.

by **LordShard** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:26 pm

I think drug use is repulsive. I was on the bus home once in high school and some people started smoking marijuanna and the whole bus stunk so bad I almost hurled.

by **Jeffro** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:25 pm

I've smelled it in the "men's restroom" and seen it in a bag before, but have never smoked it.

What the hell's the point? Waste your money to get high? Just find some good ole' fashion :beer:

and HAVE FUN (but don't drive)!

by **CodeRed68** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 7:19 pm

Originally posted by Jeffro
I've smelled it in the "men's restroom" and seen it in a bag before, but have never smoked it.

What the hell's the point? Waste your money to get high? Just find some good ole' fashion and HAVE FUN (but don't drive)!

Actually beer consumption is much more dangerous and unhealthy for you than smoking marijuana.
Waste your money to get high? OR Waste your money to get drunk?

by **Tommy Boy** » Fri Oct 29, 2004 11:23 pm

just say no....

by **Jeffro** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 12:07 am

Originally posted by CodeRed68
Actually beer consumption is much more dangerous and unhealthy for you than smoking marijuana.
Waste your money to get high? OR Waste your money to get drunk?

Can you back-up your statement please by providing stats, sources, etc...?

by **CodeRed68** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 12:57 am

Originally posted by Jeffro
Can you back-up your statement please by providing stats, sources, etc...?

For lack of me spending the time typing... I will just take the liberty to cut and paste what most of us already know...

-Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. (MADD, 1996)
-Drunk driving deaths have reached a plateau. Preliminary alcohol-related traffic fatality statistics show that 16,652 people died on the roadways in 2001. (NHTSA, 2002)
-An estimated 513,000 people are injured in alcohol-related crashes each year, an average of 59 people per hour or approximately one person every minute. (NHTSA, 2002)
-An estimated three of every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA, 2000)
-Americans rank drunk driving as their No. 1 highway safety concern. (Allstate-MADD survey, 1997)
P-reliminary research for 2000 shows that alcohol-related crashes cost the public an estimated $114.7 billion annually -- this includes an estimated $63.9 billion lost in quality of life due to these crashes. (Ted Miller, 2002)
-The societal costs of alcohol-related crashes average 80 cents per drink consumed. (Ted Miller, 1999)

The current consensus is well stated in the 20th annual report of the California Research Advisory Panel (1990), which recommended that personal use and cultivation of marijuana be legalized: "An objective consideration of marijuana shows that it is responsible for less damage to society and the individual than are alcohol and cigarettes."

Alcohol Abuse

Definition:
Alcoholism is an illness marked by consumption of alcoholic beverages at a level that interferes with physical or mental health, and social, family, or occupational responsibilities.

Alcohol also affects other body systems. Irritation of the gastrointestinal tract can occur with erosion of the lining of the esophagus and stomach causing nausea and vomiting, and possibly bleeding.
Vitamins are not absorbed properly, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies with the long-term use of alcohol.
Liver disease, called alcoholic hepatitis, may also develop and can progress to cirrhosis.
The heart muscle may be affected. Sexual dysfunction may also occur, causing problems with erections in men and cessation of menstruation in women.
Alcohol also affects other body systems. Irritation of the gastrointestinal tract can occur with erosion of the lining of the esophagus and stomach causing nausea and vomiting, and possibly bleeding.
Vitamins are not absorbed properly, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies with the long-term use of alcohol. Liver disease, called alcoholic hepatitis, may also develop and can progress to cirrhosis.
The heart muscle may be affected.
Sexual dysfunction may also occur, causing problems with erections in men and cessation of menstruation in women.

Achohol also has these complications...
Pancreatitis
Heart muscle damage
Nerve damage
Esophageal bleeding
Brain degeneration
Cirrhosis of the liver
Delirium tremens (DTs)
Depression
Erectile dysfunction
Fetal alcohol syndrome in the offspring of alcoholic women
High blood pressure
Increased incidence of cancer
Insomnia
Nutritional deficiencies
Suicide
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Marijuana Overdose

No evidence exists that anyone has ever died of a marijuana overdose
-Tests performed on mice have shown that the ratio of
cannabinoids (the chemicals in marijuana that make you stoned) necessary
for overdose to the amount necessary for intoxication is 40,000:1 [1]. For comparison's sake, that ratio for alcohol is generally between 4:1 and 10:1
-Alcohol overdoses kill about 5,000 yearly [3] but
marijuana overdoses kill no one.

Some Possible Medical Uses of Cannabinoids :

Antiemetic activity (e.g., with chemotherapy)
Decrease pain sensation
Increase appetite (e.g., in patients with cancer or AIDS) Tremor reduction
Antispasmodic
Anticonvulsant
Treatment of glaucoma
Immunomodulation

It's basically a no-brainer... the adverse effects of a naturally grown product of this earth that was meant and given to us to be consumed can in no way be compared with the man made poisen we call achohol.

References:
1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2003). Alcohol Traffic Safety Facts 2002:
Washington, DC.
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2003). Open Container Laws Traffic Safety
Facts 2003: Washington, DC.
3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2002, May). The Economic Impact of Motor
Vehicle Crashes 2000. Retrieved February 13, 2004, from
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/economic/EconImpact2000/summary.htm
4. National Commission Against Drunk Driving (n.d.). Taking a Stand on Impaired Driving.
Retrieved February 13, 2004, from http://www.3dmonth.org
5. American Medical Association (2003, September). Reducing Underage Drinking
etc...etc...etc..etc...etc...etc..

by **AnimalCracka** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 1:13 am

Hah....Jeffro just got PWNT!!!!

by **Jeffro** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 1:26 am

Hmm...

Those statistics are pretty grim. I never realized that many people drink and drive. Man I feel stupid...(not that it's a new feeling or anything

).

by **Spirit of Me** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:45 am

wow CodeRed68.

That is so enlightening info, thanks.

side note: out of 535 Members of Congress an average (since 1998) of 87 members of Congress each and every year escape DWI arrests by invoking their congressional priviledge of immunity (Article one, Section 6). The priviledge was originally provided over 200 years ago to protect members of Congress from politically-motivated arrests made in an effort to prevent then from voting or otherwise performing their official duties.

Unfortunately, even MADD insists on remaining completely silent on the issue. Apparently, the organization, which receives massive taxpayer funding from Congress, doesn't want to ruffle feathers and jeopardize a rich source of income.

(source: State University of New York)

4:20

4:20

Who is online