420: A Hazy History
The Bay Area, 1971.
In the midst of a hangover from the Summer of Love. Ten miles north of San Francisco in a sleepy little town. Five students from San Rafael high school sat on a wall, as they always did, earning them the nickname ‘The Waldos.’ One fateful afternoon, they were given a treasure map from a friend in the U.S. Coast Guard. The map supposedly led to a ‘secret garden’ near the Point Reyes Peninsula—a cannabis crop he abandoned out of fear of being caught by the U.S. government.
The Waldos came up with a plan. School ended at 3 o’clock and football practice about an hour after. They decided to meet up at 4:20 near the Louis Pasteur statue, smoke some weed, and then hop in their ’66 Impala to search for the treasure. From that point on, when the Waldos would see each other in class or in the hallways, they would whisper ‘420 Louis.’ Later shortened to just ‘420,’ code for the Waldos’ rendezvous to smoke before heading out on their adventures.
For years, the Waldos met at the statue of Louis Pasteur, got high, and then searched for the ‘secret garden’—an abandoned field of marijuana that they never did find. But the Waldos’ adventures were about more than finding some ‘secret garden.’ They were an escape from the monotony of their teenage lives. A chance to get away with a close group of friends and explore the coastline.
‘420’ could have faded away into history as easily as it arrived. But sometime in the 70s, one of the Waldos got work as a roadie for the Grateful Dead. The seminal hippy band became one of the driving forces behind helping to popularize the term throughout the 80s and 90s. In 1991, a reporter for High Times magazine got his hands on a ‘420’ flyer made by a group of Deadheads. The magazine printed the flyer and began referencing the number in their articles. The mold had been set and soon after, ‘420’ became known worldwide as a code to smoke marijuana.
Fast forward. The Bay Area, 2019.
With San Rafael being a short 30 minute drive from San Francisco, I decided to relive the origins of ‘420.’ I rented a 2018 Black Hyundai Elantra—not nearly as cool as a ‘66 Impala but it got me there. Leaving the city, the weather wasn’t looking cooperative. It had rained the night before and it seemed like it may continue into the day. By the time I arrived in San Rafael, the clouds had broken and the sun was shining down on the quiet Northern California town.
After having lunch at a local pub, my plan was to hit up a dispensary and load up on “supplies” for my trip. To my surprise and disappointment, in the town in which ‘420’ originated from, there were no recreational dispensaries. After a quick map search, I found a dispensary in Petaluma only 24 minutes away.
I made my way to the dispensary, loaded up, and got back on the road. Back to San Rafael in time to honor the tradition the Waldos started 48 years ago. Upon arriving to San Rafael high, my mind was filled with thoughts of walking the same halls as the Waldos and so many others that made the journey thereafter.
As the clock struck 4:20, my journey had officially begun. I found the Louis Pasteur statue in the courtyard and “lit a flame” in remembrance of the old tradition. Without the treasure map the Waldos had, I was forced to plot my own route. I decided to take Sir Francis Drake Blvd west to Highway 1 which would take me to Point Reyes.
Immediately I could see why the Waldos took this journey every day after school. Driving through the hills of West Marin is a quick way to escape into nature. Pretty soon into my journey I lost reception on my phone and authenticity began to set in. I pushed on and kept heading west. Finally, poking through the tall redwoods, I could see the ocean. I was almost to the coast. At this point, my mission to find the ‘secret garden’ had turned into a quest to reach the ocean.
After arriving to the ocean, I was left in deep thought. Like the Waldos, I was unsuccessful in finding the abandoned crop but from this unsuccessful journey came an unforgettable adventure. And that is what it was always about. Sometimes it’s not about the destination but how you get there.
Five friends, from a small Northern California town, bound to smoke together, on a mission to find a hidden treasure, just happened to create a movement celebrated around the world.
Client: Clandestino