If you are like many of us "budheads," celebrating the date of 4/20 is like Christmas in April, but ever wonder how the Green Holiday gots its start? According to stories, 4/20 got its holiday when five high school students Larry Schwartz, Dave Reddix, Steve Capper, Jeffrey Noel, and Mark Gravich from San Rafael, California, back in 1971.

The students used the code "4:20 Louis" to reference the plan they put together to uncover abandoned marijuana crops based on a treasure map a grower gave them.

The five students dubbed the "Waldos" due to their usual hang-out being a wall outside of San Rafael High School would meet at the Louis Pasteur statue at 4:20 pm to off on their journey to green riches. Eventually, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to strike at becoming bud-rich, The Waldos shorten the code word to 4:20, which became the code for tokers everywhere to pay homage to cannabis by sparking up.

Thanks to Steven Hager of High Times popularizing the Waldos story in the May 1991 issue of High Times highlighting the 4:20 smoking time and 4/20 holiday, the trend caught on quickly and is now celebrated daily and yearly by people around the world. Hager believes 4:20 times became popularized by Great Dead fans after Dave Reddix began to roadie for the Grateful Dead's bassist Phil Lesh. While on tour, Reddix called 4:20 a socially accepted hour of the day to consume cannabis.

Waldo's, we salute you! Happy 4/20 tokers!

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