happy (late) 420

The number "420" has now become inescapable within our culture, as the popular time to get high on marijuana.

Where did this number come from?

Several false rumors about the meaning of 420 include:

• The New York and Los Angeles departments using "420" as a code for smoking
• The amount of chemical compounds that compose marijuana
• The day that users Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Jannis Japlin died

Smoking at 4:20 began with a group of teenagers from San Rafael High School in north California in the year 1971. They would meet at this time to smoke and attempt to find some rumored abandoned marijuana crops. This soon became a designated smoking time for their friends and spread from there.

Eventually, a rock band called the Grateful Dead started to begin their smoking sessions at 4:20 and referred to this term within their songs. Their fans, called the "Deadheads", followed. Steve Bloom, an editor of a leading marijuana-inspired magazine, the High Times, saw "420" on one of the bands' flyers, and the magazine began using the term as well. 420 continued to spread from there, until eventually, in 2004, the California penal code section 420 was created restricting usage of medical marijuana.

Source

April 20th (4/20) is now known as "420 Day" for many people, and celebrated by them by consuming marijuana. There's even been a petition with over 36,000 signatures created online that's pushing for an actual "420 Day" holiday to be created on this day...

It’s high time we had a National Weed Day. Sign my petition here: http://t.co/JaZVQKHb1E pic.twitter.com/vYwn3bwJ0r
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) April 18, 2015

Marijuana and "420" have also inspired clothing:

New limited edition 420 merch available now at http://t.co/R2F26Q6pbg pic.twitter.com/u3cXTuPGnh
— G-Eazy (@G_Eazy) April 21, 2015

The "420 culture has resulted in many songs in a variety of genres being inspired by, about, or mentioning marijuana.

***Warning: Explicit Lyrics***

 

 

• The song "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Nate Dogg begins with the lyrics "so blaze the weed up then! Blaze it up, blaze it up!" and concludes with "smoke weed every day". The Next Episode is often accidentally called "Smoke Weed Everyday" because of its ending.

• "Your Love is my Drug" by Ke$ha compares love with getting high with verses like "I don't care what people say/The rush is worth the price I pay/I get so high when you're with me/But crash and crave you when you leave".

 

• "Stay High" by G-Eazy featuring Mod Sun is about G-Eazy getting high with girls. "I'm high and I'm never comin down.../Stay high all day/Stay high all day/F*** around and stay high all day/Stay high all day".

•  The "My Medicine" video by The Pretty Reckless takes viewers through a party, while the lead singer smokes marijuana and sings verses such as "Well, I drink what you leak and I smoke what you sigh". It also describes what is seen as a result of the mixture of marijuana and drugs with "There's a tiger in the room and a baby in the closet" and by adding effects to the video.

420 and therefore the smoking of marijuana has so far taken over the time "4:20", the day 4/20, music, clothes, and more.

So far, marijuana is legal in 24 of the 50 states in the United States- about half. How much longer will it be until marijuana is legal in all states due to its influence over our culture? Will other drugs be legalized as well like this as a result?

Society's All Lit Up

Drugs are now unavoidable in our society. They can be found at schools, in music, at parties- just about anywhere. Information regarding them can be easily accessed via the Internet.
 

Most modern music is either about or mentions drug usage. Music probably holds most of the influence on drug usage- since recreational drug usage can be found at just about all modern music events. People listen to these songs from the radio, hear them from other people, or get caught on the tune. Listeners then associate the substances with the descriptions and usages provided in the songs, or want to repeat what is described in the song.


Since teenagers now have an extreme amount of stress and peer pressure on them, they'll do almost anything to try to fit in or escape their stress.

 

Here are just some of the many popular songs focused on drug usage:

• "Stay High" by Tove Lo is about how drugs were used to escape the pain of a break up.

"You're gone and I gotta stay high

All the time to keep you off my mind....

High all the time to keep you off my mind Spend my days locked in a haze

Trying to forget you babe, I fall back down I gotta stay high all my life to

forget I'm missing you..."

• The song "Pursuit of Happiness", by Kid Cudi, focuses on finding happiness- through drug usage.

"Crush a bit, little bit,

Roll it up, take a hit,

Feeling lit, feeling right,

2 A-M, summer night, I don't care,

Hand on the wheel,

Driving drunk I'm doing my thang"

 

 

• "I Don't Believe You" by G-Eazy describes the parties that he attended on his tours and the drugs and other activities that he did at them, in addition to mocking people who aren't used to using the drugs that he does.

 

"You don't turn up like we do
Say you do?
I don't believe you
It's, four In the morning I'm looking for drugs
Already faded increasing my buzz
Working it odd I'll be at the clubs
Every weekend this is what I does
I know that you think that you party like us in a similar fashion
But I spent a rack on these jeans that I'm holding my stash in..."

(WARNING: Explicit lyrics) 

 

 

 

 

If most drugs, like weed, are supposed to be illegal, why are they so involved within music? When a singer has a song about drugs, aren't they basically proclaiming their usage of illegal substances- in addition to encouraging the usage of those illegal substances? How do these people obtain these "illegal" drugs? What kinds of drugs are available? How are these drugs produced, and how are they able to be so widely distributed if they're supposed to be illegal?

 Since I haven't actually used any drugs myself, I've wondered what exactly makes drugs so addicting to some people? Do they really make people feel better, or do people just pretend that they do, in order to fit in better with others? What exactly do people experience when they consume different kinds of drugs?

 

Drug usage is especially popular among teenagers. Teenagers get introduced to drugs- either by hearing about it in music or through other people. As a result, many teens now believe that the only way to have a good time, be in the times, or to relieve stress is by taking drugs. What kinds of effects do drugs have on these people? Are drugs necessarily harmful to people? Do they have any positive qualities? When exactly did drugs become the trend among teenagers? How many teens are active users of drugs? How many teens have at least just tried drugs?

 

I believe that people should be given more freedom in drug usage. The only harm that drug users are doing is all on themselves. We're in charge of our own bodies, so we should be the ones to decide whether to damage them or not. Unless the usage of a drug has been proven to harms people other than the person consenting to use it, the drug shouldn't be illegal. Rather than spending energy on attempting to catch drug users, authorities should concentrate more on other crimes- therefore making society safer overall. Are there any pro-drug use movements that are currently active? Will there be more freedom given to drug usage in the future because so many people are now using them? How much freedom will be given- will only certain drugs be prohibited, or will they all be allowed to be consumed?