Wondering where ‘420’ comes from? Truth, rumors and a crazy idea about a Bob Dylan song

April 20 or 420, has been synonymous with marijuana for decades, but what is the origin of the hazy day?

Fort Worth residents looking to partake in legal 420 festivities, have a variety of options. From movie screenings of stoner classics, to 420 parties with live music and food, there’s a little something for everyone.

While the history of 420 isn’t etched into stone, there are several rumors and alleged truths about its origins. Let’s take a look at why the triple-digit number is associated with marijuana:

Five California teens on a quest for green glory

The most prolific 420 origin story comes out of California in the early 1970s.

A group of five friends obsessed with smoking weed, also known as the “Waldos,” used to meet outside their San Rafael high school at 4:20 p.m. everyday to smoke pot after class and sports practice.

The legend goes, the Waldos heard that a Coast Guard member planted a cannabis plant nearby but could no longer take care of it, according to the History Channel. Everyday the Waldos would meet at 4:20 p.m. under the school’s Louis Pasteur statue to smoke and then, with treasure map in hand, go out to hunt for the plant.

As the story goes, the Waldos never found the unattended bush, but their story lives on and now, over five decades later, their 420 terminology is part of the pop culture lexicon.

Grateful Dead influence

The Waldos may have never found the plant, but they did find a way to one of the biggest bands of all time, the Grateful Dead.

In the 1970s, the Waldos had a few connections to the band. A Waldo’s dad managed real estate for the band, while another member’s older brother was good friends with Phil Lesh, the Dead’s bassist.

During rehearsals in San Rafael, some of the Waldo’s would hangout and get high while the band was getting ready for shows. The legend grew from there.

When the Huffington Post tracked down Lesh, he confirmed that he was friends with the Waldos and “wouldn’t be surprised” if the group had coined the 420 term.

As the Grateful Dead hit the road in the ‘80s and ‘90s, 420 became synonymous with the band’s fan base for lighting up the bud.

Eventually, High Times reporter Steven Bloom found a flyer at a 1990 Grateful Dead concert that read, “We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais,” according to the Huffington Post.

Bloom, intrigued by the flyer, wrote on it for the High Times in its May 1991 magazine issue. Former High Times editor Steve Hager told the Huffington Post, that once the magazine wrote about the origin of 420, they never looked back.

“The publicity that High Times gave it is what made it an international thing,” Hager said. “Until then, it was relatively confined to the Grateful Dead subculture. But we blew it out into an international phenomenon.”

Police code, Bob Dylan and other 420 rumors

While the Waldos story is history among many in the marijuana subculture, other rumors about 420’s origins have popped up over the years.

Some say 420 is police code among officers for someone smoking marijuana (it’s not). Other’s have noted more darker origins for April 20, such as its Adolf Hitler’s birthday and the same date when the Columbine school shooting happened in 1999, according to a Snopes fact check.

Rumors even circulated that the Bob Dylan song “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”, is responsible for the number, according to Time magazine. Since 12 multiplied by 35 equals 420.

However, the most credible story on the marijuana-infused holiday remains with the Waldos of California and there daily afternoon smoke session.