So, where did '420' originate and What Does it Mean?

The 20th of April is fast approaching, which means a whole lot of people will be getting high at around 4:20pm on Sunday arvo.
But where did the whole '420' phenomenon originate?

Jason De Thomas from The UNC Connection did some hunting:

The Haze Cleared About Marijuana-Related "420"

In 1971, a group of friends calling themselves "the Waldos" simply made it up. Corroborated by both (Shaun) Hubler and (Steven) Hager, apparently the friends had another friend who had heard of a cannabis patch in the hills of Marin County. During those days at San Rafael High School, the "Waldos" planned to meet at a statue of Louis Pasteur at 4:20 p.m. This was the most reasonable time for everyone to meet after school, to hunt for the hidden cannabis patch.

However, as one of the "Waldos" told Hubler, they never found the patch. What they did do was get high a lot and drive around.

They have proof, in the form of letters and postcards, indicating that they coined the term.

(Shaun Hubler works for the LA Times and Steven Hager is Editor of High Times magazine).

So there you go, no need to wonder anymore.

Here are some more pages that back up the origin:

More from High Times Magazine

420 is not so much a time or place as it is a state of mind. A stoned state of mind, to be specific. In the past, HIGH TIMES has reported on various competing theories surrounding the appearance of this unique bit of smoker slang, but as the following timeline clearly shows, the controversy has been resolved. The original story of 420 begins with five fellow students - all of whom assumed the nom de pot Waldo - who met after school at the appointed hour to smoke some of Californias finest, and occasionally searched for a hidden pot field they'd heard about in the hills outside town.