A High-Falutin Expression
Urban Legends Create a Smoky Haze Around "420"
This is my column for April 20, 2007. Those interested in its subject matter herein either already know the etymology behind the expression “420” or are doing something they enjoy more than sitting at a computer.
Indeed, today is Christmas for potheads-and, I’d imagine, a day for the people who normally wouldn’t partake in the wacky tobacky to indulge. Unlike April Fool’s Day or New Year’s Eve-when the pranksters and all-night partiers take a step back to allow for amateur hour-this day tends to be one that the aficionados relish. For example, it’s the only day I know of in which you can head to Isla Vista and watch a scheduled, promoted joint-rolling contest.
Aside from being a day when I can guarantee to smell a certain kind of smoke that, since my graduation from college, has become oddly nostalgic, this unofficial holiday intrigues me because the origins of its emblematic narcotic number are so obscure. Given what some studies claim long-term marijuana use does to the brain, I suppose it’s possible that everyone who would have reason to know has forgotten. Nonetheless, most sources estimate it came into use in American English sometime in the 1970s. That’s not long ago, even considering the relatively short lifespan of most slang, but apparently long enough that no one can say with certainty why we use it the way we do.
