Today zillions of people across the land awoke with a twinkle in their eye and a bounce in their step. It’s that most wonderful of holidays, the 121st anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler and his goofy mustache!
Just kidding. Today is April 20, also known as 4-20, a day dedicated by celebrants across the nation to that loftiest of occupations, smoking a whole lot of pot.
When I realized my column would be published on 4-20, I knew I wanted to write about this odd “holiday,” but I didn’t want to give the wrong impression and be labeled a “druggie.” My “stoner” friends were enthusiastic about my topic, unsurprisingly, but I also asked what I’ll lovingly call my “goody-two shoe” friends, and they liked the idea as well, so here goes.
In high school someone told me “4-20” was a police code for marijuana possession or something of the sort, but both Wikipedia and urbandictionary.com categorically denied that. Apparently (according to those two reliable sources) some kids in northern California met at 4:20 every day to smoke, and decided smoking at 4:20 on 4-20 would be super cool, so they started doing that too.
It’s funny how traditions get started. Last summer the History Channel aired a series called “Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way.” There were several episodes covering various drugs. I watched most of the episodes with my parents, who were thoroughly intrigued (which would be more amusing to you if you understood how straight-laced my parents are, trust me). One of the things I learned was that Queen Victoria ate hash-infused chocolates to help with her menstrual pain. (My parents weren’t as keen on that idea as I was.)
Another fact I learned from the “Marijuana” episode: the artificial nature of the criminalization of marijuana in the late 1930s. I don’t remember all the details (I’m sure there are lots of “hippies” milling around today that you can ask if you’re really interested), but according to the History Channel, William Randolph Hearst, that bastion of accurate, reliable newspaper reporting, played a large role in sensationalizing the effects of marijuana usage, particularly its role in causing violent crimes, thus turning popular will in favor of criminalization.
Now, I want to note a caveat: I’m not sure how reliable that History Channel documentary was. I don’t doubt its facts, necessarily, but you and I both know that facts are one thing; what’s another thing entirely is how facts are interpreted.
The History Channel series was a bit sensational and seemed more concerned with making a splash than with presenting information accurately and objectively. I think it’s likely they exaggerated some events and glossed over others. Such is the nature of our profit-driven culture, so you can’t fault the producers too much for that, but the principle of considering the legitimacy of your sources is worth keeping in mind.
On an almost final note, please don’t take today’s column as either condoning or condemning drug use. As a daily coffee drinker, I’m a huge fan of drug use, to a point — I’d bet lots of y’all are when you think about it like that. As a friend of mine loves to point out, we’re not a “drug-free” society but a “some drugs” society: Certain drugs can be used to alter our states of consciousness legally, while the use of others has been prohibited.
That concept, I realize, could start a complex conversation about both the role of society in prohibiting activities it deems harmful and to what extent society should be allowed to play that role, but as I don’t have much space left we’ll talk about that another time, when y’all aren’t so high.
And now a shout-out to a few of my friends. I wanted to call them by their initials, but they wanted nicknames, so here goes: BJ Paul, G. Lo, Rhino, Slammin and Willum — enjoy yourselves today. And to everyone, if you choose to engage in certain illegal activities today, I hope you can manage to get by (and high) with a little help from your friends. Have fun and be safe. And don’t forget about Earth Day on Thursday!
— Leigh Dickey is a junior in global studies. She can be reached at [email protected].
