Today, April 20, is the most exalted day of the year for marijuana enthusiasts, but now that pot is legal in California aficionados predict that this 4/20 will likely be bigger and smokier than ever.
Although users still need a medical marijuana card to purchase cannabis (the sale of recreational pot isn’t officially legal until next year), they can still possess and grow the plant.
Pot smokers across the state are expected to pry themselves off their couches and join their fellow stoners in numerous celebrations.
The origins of 4/20 are pretty hazy, but many marijuana enthusiasts say it started in California. Among various theories is the belief is that a group of California teenagers in San Rafael created the term in 1971. The friends, who called themselves the Waldos, would met at 4:20 p.m. to search for an abandoned marijuana crop and get high, apparently.
Others say the term came from police codes for smoking pot in public. But that penal code in California actually refers to obstructing entry into public land.
California in 1996 became the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. Then in November, Californians overwhelmingly supported Proposition 64, a measure that allowed residents who are 21 and older to possess, transport, buy and use up to an ounce of cannabis for recreational purposes and allow individuals to grow as many as six plants.
The measure allows non-medical marijuana to be sold only by state licensed businesses, and gives the state until Jan. 1, 2018, to begin issuing sales licenses for recreational retailers.
Although several states, including California, Colorado and Oregon, have legalized marijuana for recreational use, cannabis is still considered a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is not “currently accepted medical use.” (Read Full Story)
