AP Explains: 4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana's high holiday

https://lemmy.ca/post/19648647

AP Explains: 4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana's high holiday - Lemmy.ca

Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in nearly half the states and the nation’s capital. Many states have instituted “social equity” measures to help communities of color, harmed the most by the drug war, reap financial benefits from legalization. And the White House has shown an openness to marijuana reform. (T)he prevailing explanation is that it started in the 1970s with a group of bell-bottomed buddies [https://420waldos.com/] from San Rafael High School, in California’s Marin County north of San Francisco, who called themselves “the Waldos.” A friend’s brother was afraid of getting busted for a patch of cannabis he was growing in the woods at nearby Point Reyes, so he drew a map and gave the teens permission to harvest the crop, the story goes. During fall 1971, at 4:20 p.m., just after classes and football practice, the group would meet up at the school’s statue of chemist Louis Pasteur, smoke a joint and head out to search for the weed patch. They never did find it, but their private lexicon — “420 Louie” and later just “420” — would take on a life of its own.

This article talks about activism, but the lack of activism is the problem and why I honestly don’t like it. It should be a day of activism, but it’s “let’s all get high and party” instead.

Not only has the drug war incarcerated a huge number of people over a plant that hasn’t even been processed like cocaine or heroin, the medical use is really important. I know because I don’t use it for fun, I use it as a pain modifier for my trigeminal neuralgia and when I don’t have access to it, the pain is much more intense. If 4/20 was about promoting legal use and promoting the medical properties over having a big party, I’d love it, but it isn’t.

If it became “let’s all have a big party” after it is legalized nationally, I’ll join up with the rest of the party team. But until then, I’ll just keep doing my regular activism and ignore any significance of tomorrow as if it’s a special holiday.

And if I’m imbibing on 4/20 at 4:20, it will be because I’m in too much pain, not because I’m celebrating.

(I’m guessing I just pissed a bunch of people off. Oh well.)

Kind of a shit take (like all of your takes are). People are allowed to have fun and be activists. Celebration is activism. Think about gay pride. Having a 4/20 party further normalizes cannabis in our culture.
I never said people weren’t allowed to.
No, but you’ll be weird and judgemental if they do.
Like you’re being now?
Oh, please 🙄 Dude knew their opinion was shitty that’s why they were like “everyone is gonna be mad”. They’re opinion is that nobody should party on 4/20 until it’s legalized, which is dumb as hell for the reasons I already described.
That was not my opinion. Maybe don’t speak on my behalf?
Maybe don’t post long comments complaining about 4/20 being too much of a party if you don’t want people to think that’s your opinion! Hope that helps!

The entire post was only about what I personally felt and what I personally should do. I made that absolutely clear in the entire post. I never suggested that anyone else should do anything. At all.

I certainly never suggested that anyone else shouldn’t have a party.

Did you even read my comment to the end or did you just jump in early so you could put words in my mouth?

Literally you say it should be a day of activism and not a party, and then you go off on your personal shit.
Yes. That is my opinion of what it should be even though it isn’t. Why am I not allowed to have that opinion?
Yes! You’re allowed to be a judgemental asshole, you do you!

I don’t know why you’re so angry or why you keep insulting me.

In a thread about weed of all things.

You don’t know why … but you literally acknowledged people would be mad in your post. You’re a disingenuous asshole.

No, I really don’t know why you’re angry.

Much like I don’t know why you think I care if you have a party.

It sounds like you need a party.

I don’t know why you’re lying lol, but I also think you might literally just be dumb
Please quote me lying.
No! Because anyone with reading comprehension can see you pretending like you aren’t shitting on people for having a party! Hope that helps you shitstain
If you can’t show where I lied or what I lied about, I guess I didn’t lie.
Aw lil buddy can’t read
It’s very foolish and pointless to write comments to someone who can’t read. So that doesn’t reflect well on you.
Helping you learn lil buddy!!

I know I can’t read, but that sentence should properly be written as follows:

Helping you learn, li’l buddy!

Just some help from an illiterate.

Grammar prescriptivism is racist, and tone-policing. You’re pretending you aren’t making the argument that you are making, and get whiny when someone calls you out.