420 meaning: Why do people smoke 'weed' on the 20th April at 4.20?

420 is a significant occasion for cannabis smokers across the globe, as they unite to celebrate the landmark. 

The annual event is observed to celebrate and promote the legalisation of marijuana, as its use is still prohibited in many countries around the world.

So, when is 420 in 2023? Where does it get its name from? Who started the tradition? 

Read on below for everything you need to know about 420 and the celebrations surrounding it.  

A reveler is pictured inhaling from a bong during 420 celebrations, which occur annually on 20 April

420 takes its name from the American English system of ordering dates. 420 falls annually on 20 April, which would be stylised in the US as 4/20. 

As a result, this term is still used today to mark the cannabis-smoking celebrations.

420 does not just take its name after the event's date, but also has ties to its roots in California, where it began during the 1970s. 

The convention is said to have been created by five Californian high school students - Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz and Mark Gravich.

In 1971, the five students, who attended San Rafael High School, came up with a secret term. 

They used the expression '420' to communicate that they would meet later in the day to smoke marijuana.

After exchanging the phrase '420' whilst at school, they would subsequently convene at 4.20pm to smoke cannabis, although it is unclear if the timing actually had anything to do with the naming of the ritual.

The group became known as the 'Waldos' because their chosen smoking spot was against a wall, near a statue of the famous chemist Louis Pasteur. 

Now in their 60s, the original founders of 420 still meet together to mark the event they inadvertently founded over 50 years ago. 

In the UK, cannabis smokers flock to London's Hyde Park to meet anyone else who chooses to celebrate 420. 

In the US, 420's country of origin, rallies are normally held in states including Colorado, California, Michigan, and Florida.

It has become traditional for cannabis smokers to celebrate 420 in London's Hyde Park. These were the scenes at the venue in 2022 

Similar instances of people coming together to smoke cannabis often occur across across the globe.  

Ugly scenes marred 420 in 2022, when police arrested 10 people as crowds spilled over into Oxford Street in London after thousands of revelers descended on parks across the country to protest against cannabis laws and mark '420' day.

Footage captured dozens of officers using dogs to disperse attendees who had left Hyde Park, with one detective saying some were 'involved in assaults' with a 'machete seen' at the time.

One clip of those appeared to show a German Shepherd nipping at a man's leg, causing him to fall to the ground as screams and car horns could be heard blaring in the background.