Stock your pantry with Doritos and go ahead and visit your local dispensary because tomorrow, the world will celebrate 420. Traditionally, cannabis enthusiasts celebrate the holiday primarily with THC. This year, however, you may want to consider adding some CBD into your celebration rotation. Keep reading to find out why.

What Does 420 Mean?

If you’ve ever been scrolling through a dating app or Craigslist post and wondered, “what does 420-friendly mean?” Well, here’s your answer:

420 can function as a type of code to reference both marijuana or the cannabis plant itself with a little more subtlety than just outright saying weed. For example, the phrase 420-friendly is commonly used on the internet to let people know that the poster has no problems being around pot smoke and likely partakes in smoking weed themselves.

Nowadays, however, the term 420 is hardly just a secret code for smoking. The number has become so ubiquitous that even those outside of cannabis culture are at least somewhat familiar with its meaning. Even though 420 has lost a bit of its original practical purpose, it’s still widely used by cannabis brands and consumers.

What Is 420?

As you likely already know, 420 is more than just another quirky addition to the ever-expanding lexicon of cannabis slang. 420 is also national weed day! People all around the globe will celebrate the April 20th holiday by sparking up at exactly 4:20 pm (the industrious stoners may even get a 4:20 am session in as well).

It’s a great way to feel connected to the cannabis community knowing that all across your time zone people are taking a toke alongside you. With the onslaught of social distancing and stay-at-home orders we’ve all been faced within the last year, anything that can make us feel connected to our fellow human beings is objectively a good thing.

How Did 420 Start? 

The 420 origin story begins in the hallways of a San Rafael high school when a group of students who called themselves the Waldos started an adventure that could be described as The Goonies meets Pineapple Express.

With only a crudely drawn map as their guide, the teens set out to find a secret stash of marijuana plants hidden near the bay. The group would meet every day after class at exactly 4:20 pm in front of a statue of Louis Pasteur that stood outside the school. The Waldos used 420 to stealthily remind one another of the treasure hunt in the halls during school hours, and even though they never found the plants, they continued to use it as a cannabis code.

The use of 420 spread when one of the Waldos got a job as a roadie for the Grateful Dead and introduced the band to the cipher. During the Dead’s prolific touring schedule, more people became exposed to the slang term, and its usage became a national phenomenon.

In the early 90s, Oakland Dead Heads would officially start the 420 holiday tradition by creating flyers inviting the city to all imbibe on bud at exactly 4:20 on April 20th.

Why You Should Add CBD To Your 420 Celebration

Most people celebrate 420 primarily with THC—oftentimes using copious amounts of the intoxicating cannabinoid. However, adding a little CBD into the mix can make for an overall more pleasant holiday experience.

Both CBD and THC work by triggering our endocannabinoid system. However, the compounds act a little differently. THC directly binds to CB1 receptors, which some scientists speculate accounts for the cannabinoid’s intoxicating effects. CBD, on the other hand, doesn’t activate the receptors in the same way. Instead, CBD influences the way cannabinoid receptors respond to stimulation. What this means practically is that consuming CBD with your THC may temper some of the more negative effects associated with marijuana use, such as paranoia.

This cannabinoid synergy is what the infamous researcher Dr. Ethan B. Russo has coined, the entourage effect. Russo’s research suggests that the combinations of cannabinoids and terpenes naturally present in cannabis actually work together to boost the effects of each individual compound. 

So this year, consider throwing some CBD-rich hemp into your joint or taking a few puffs of your Elon in between bong rips to unlock the full power of cannabis. However you choose to celebrate, just make sure you do it responsibly.

Happy 420 from the folks at E1011 Labs!