TLDR: The Waldos invented 420 in the ’70s, and the code they coined has become the rallying cry of a billion-dollar cannabis culture.
In 1971, a group of San Rafael High School students known as The Waldos met near a statue of Louis Pasteur at 4:20 p.m. to search for a rumoured abandoned cannabis crop. Armed with a treasure map and teenage ambition, they never found the plant—but what they did discover was something far more potent: a cultural phenomenon. “420” became their secret code for getting high. Fifty years later, it’s the global shorthand for cannabis celebration.
In a must-watch Forbes documentary, The Waldos recount the wild origins of the most iconic number in weed history. What began as a private joke turned into a linguistic virus, spreading across college campuses and Deadhead (Grateful Dead fans) circles, and eventually becoming the cornerstone of modern marijuana culture.
Today, 420 isn’t just a time or a date—it’s an industry. Cannabis sales topped $17.5 billion last year and are projected to surge past $41 billion by 2025. April 20 has become Black Friday for dispensaries, with last year’s holiday week raking in over $126 million in just six states. That’s some serious green.
Still, even with 70% of Americans supporting legalization, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug at the federal level. That means CEOs of weed companies, despite operating in legal states, are technically criminals under U.S. law. The contradiction is baked into the culture now—like THC in a brownie.
The Waldos didn’t just coin a catchphrase. They sparked a movement, a rebellion wrapped in humour and haze. What they created was more than slang—it was code for freedom. And in an America slowly sobering up to cannabis reality, that code still blazes strong.
