This month, the month of April, arguably the best month because it includes a pothead’s favorite holiday, 420, this blog has brought you the 420 Handbook. It has explored the different myths surrounding the now famous (or infamous) 420 holiday and given you the most widely agreed upon origin story behind the celebration, that of The Waldos and their quest to find a hidden crop of marijuana plants in the forests of California. It has also given you a varied list of activities and celebrations happening for April 20. And, as always, it has suggested the finest dispensary in Colorado, Denver’s Altitude Dispensary, for all of your cannabis needs.

For our last installment of the 420 Handbook we aim to bring you a hodgepodge of 420 related tidbits, facts and jokes. Starting with my favorite joke or bumper sticker—“It’s 4:19. Got a minute?” Get it? Because in one more minute it will be 4:20 and we will get to smoke. I use this little joke whenever I happen to look at a clock and it happens to be 4:19 (this happens surprisingly often, even more often than catching 11:11.) Hopefully there will be friends around me who I can use it on, but even if there isn’t, I will say it under my breath and then hope that I’m somewhere near my pot and somewhere I can actually smoke (not at work.) Because one should never miss an opportunity to celebrate 420—the time or the date.

Next up, puns! I love a good pun and man are there a lot when it comes to 420 and cannabis in general. Here is my favorite, “it’s 420 somewhere”- kind of like that song by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett- It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere. Meaning it’s ok or acceptable to drink because somewhere out there, it is five o’clock and work is done, so we can go ahead and get lit.

And then, we would like to leave you with a few fun facts about Colorado and cannabis. For example, did you know that there are more dispensaries in Denver than there are Starbucks coffee shops? Twice as many in fact. Whoa! But, regardless of how many dispensaries are out there, Denver’s Altitude Dispensary is still your best bet for all the fine cannabis products you are looking for. They will have all that you need to celebrate 420 in style.

Or, did you know how many jobs have been created in Colorado since the legalization of Marijuana? Over 50,000! This includes all sorts of jobs including: farming, retail, and construction. Or, did you know that there are training programs that budtenders can take to learn as much as they can about the products they are selling you? In this way can can be as informed as possible and answer any questions you may have.

This concludes our month long blogs of your 420 Handbook. I hope you found it helpful and fun. And, now you know! And knowing is half the battle. For all your cannabis needs and for the best, most knowledgeable, and friendly budtenders, go to Denver’s Altitude Dispensary.

Welcome back to our 420 handbook, your guide to all things 420. We spent the last few blogs debunking a few myths about the origin of the now famous number and sharing with you what is the most commonly accepted origin story. The story of a few high school Friends from California who called themselves The Waldos and maybe sometimes hung with The Grateful Dead.

 Now onto celebrations. (By the way, I’m writing this and it is 4:20 right now! Whoa, man.) I personally like to celebrate every 420 I happen to notice. This type of celebrating usually just consists of loading a bowl and smoking it. Whohoo, party time. This usually happens at least once a day. But, come on, you want to know about the big holiday, right! The one that happens only once a year.

There are all sorts of celebrations and festivals that happen to celebrate the date of April 20th. The grand finale of these celebrations, of course, occurring at 4:20 pm. If you are in Colorado where Denver’s Altitude Dispensary has three locations, then you are in luck with an abundance of festivities to partake in to celebrate the beautiful plant and all it has to offer.

Maybe you have heard of a little place called Red Rocks Amphitheater, AKA, my church. It resides in the small town of Morrison, Colorado and attracts crowds from all over the world to hear music in an all natural amphitheater. The sound is out of this world!

Well for 420 Red Rocks put on a huge show called 420 On The Rocks. This year’s concert features artists like Pepper and Method Man and Redman. They will headline the all day concert. The event happens, not surprisingly, on April 20th. Tickets range from $50-$150.

If music isn’t your thing (said no one ever), there are other celebrations happening near or around Denver’s Altitude Dispensaries, don’t you fret. The Mile High 420 Festival is happening at Civic Center Park for the first time in two years because of the pandemic. It is coined as “the world’s largest 420 festival” and I am inclined to believe it.

This festival has free admission and is recommended for those over twenty-one years of age. There is free live music including Big Boi, Lil John, and Talib Kweli. There are also bars, food trucks, merchandise tents, vendors and something called “the 420 experience.” Y’all, I don’t even know what that could be, but it sounds like we should definitely check it out.

In addition to these huge events taking place in Colorado on April 20th, there will be all sorts of smaller, local events happening in your town too. Check out your local bars and restaurants to find out what they have going on. Often they will have $4.20 food and drink specials as well.

You can always stop into your friendly and local Altitude Dispensary to find out what is happening near and around you so that you can celebrate 420 in style. While you’re at Altitude Dispensary, be sure to stock up on all the supplies you will need to fully celebrate this most righteous and far out of holidays.

Welcome back to our 420 Handbook Part III. Our attempt at everything you need to know about the now famous holiday of 420 widely celebrated on April 20th at 4:20 AM and PM. In our past two blogs we told you the myths behind 420—some funny, some funky and some just plain odd—and how it came to be. 

Then we told you the real origin of the term 420. The most commonly accepted origin story of the term 420 is about a group of Californian high school students who would meet (presumably after school or sports practice) at 4:20 by a statue of Louis Pasteur on campus. Back then, when marijuana was still illegal, such codes had to be used to keep from getting caught. 

These days, with recreational cannabis legal in eighteen states, you can simply stop by your local dispensary, like Denver’s Altitude Dispensary, pick up whatever products you need, and consume them without fear of getting caught. What a great time to be alive.

But in the last blog, I told you there was a bit more to the story. And this is the fun part for me. This group of Californian teenagers called themselves The Waldos. The name was inspired by the fact that they used to hang out by the wall of their high school. (Clever.) 

It appears the reason they would meet each week was because they knew about a secret treasure. Or perhaps more aptly, a secret stash. One hidden in the Point Reyes Forest nearby. Supposedly a Coast Guard member had planted a cannabis plant, yet could no longer tend to it. 

So the story goes, The Waldos, equipped with a treasure map, would set out each week at 4:20 to find this secret plant and therefore add to their stash. How grateful are we that we simply have to go to the store and get everything we need at Denver’s Altitude Dispensary? 

But they never did find the stash and instead just had a real high time driving and walking around smoking pot and looking for the ever elusive stash. So just how did 420 become such a universal and household name? This is the fun part! (Well the treasure hunt was fun too.)

Enter—The Grateful Dead. (You knew they had to be in this story somewhere.) Turns out many of The Waldos had connections with members or affiliates of the most famous band. One’s father managed the band’s real estate. Another’s brother was good friends with Phil Lesh, the bass guitar player for The Grateful Dead. 

While hanging out often backstage, The Waldos and friends would use the terminology, perhaps when passing a joint around—‘hey 420, man.’ And in that way, the term started spreading throughout the Deadhead community and beyond. The rest, as they say, is history. 

While we no longer need a code to secretly talk of partaking in cannabis because it is now legal in so many states, we still enjoy the term 420 and find a reason to celebrate it twice a day and sometimes thrice. For all your 420 needs any day of the year Denver’s Altitude Dispensary has you covered.

Welcome to part II of our 420 handbook in honor and celebration of the wonderful month of April, the unofficial official month dedicated to all things cannabis. In our last blog we discussed some of the myths and theories behind the number 420 and how it came to be universally know for all things related to the lovely plant we know and enjoy. The plant which can be found in all its many forms at Denver’s Altitude Dispensary. 

In this blog, we aim to enlighten you about the real origin of the number 420. Or if not the real origin, the most widely accepted story as to how 420 came to be known as the universal time to get high and enjoy cannabis from your friendly Denver Dispensary, Altitude Dispensary. But first, a few more crazy theories because, they are fun gosh darn it!

In the last blog we mentioned 420 being the possible code that cops use to call in marijuana use, or that the number is somehow linked to Bob Dylan’s song Rainy Day Woman, or that perhaps it was a reference to the number of chemicals in the plant itself. All of these ideas have been refuted. 

Here’s some more crazy ideas people have come up with to explain the number 420. Some people claim that it’s the day that Bob Marley, the reggae singer famous for partaking in and advocating for the legalization of marijuana, died. But actually, he died on May 11, 1981, so I’m not really sure where that idea came from, but I’m guessing someone thought of it when they were really, really stoned. 

Other theories link the number, or date to horticulture and think that April 20th is the best day on which to plant your marijuana plants. But again there is no evidence to back up planting on a certain, specific day to be advantageous. Busted again.

So what is the most widely accepted theory behind the meaning and origin of the number 420? You’ve got to ask Waldo. Actually, ask Waldos. Who are the Waldos, you may ask? They were (and still are) a group of high school students in California back in 1971. Like most high school groups that form, they named themselves, and The Waldos is what they came up with.

They enjoyed smoking the devil’s lettuce and would, I’m guessing, shortly after high school let out, meet to smoke the wacky tabacky near a statue of Louis Pasteur on campus. In order to talk about this meeting and the illicit acts that would be taking place during it, The Waldos created a code with which to talk about their plans discreetly. 

The code, as you might guess, involved the number 420. The full code was ‘420 Louis.’ The latter being a reference to the statue as which they would convene. 

There’s a bit more to the story that we’ll share in our next blog, 420 Handbook Part III. Til then, be sure to check out Denver’s Altitude Dispensary for all your cannabis needs.

It is the month of April. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, the sun is mostly shining, it is windy as, well, it’s windy, dispensaries like Denver’s Altitude Dispensary are stocked and packed, and it is a cannabis enthusiast’s favorite month. Why is April a cannabis enthusiast’s favorite month, you may ask. These next few blogs aim to explain just that. It aims to enlighten you on all that 420 means. The hype surrounding it, the facts, the myths and the celebrations that will be happening on April 20.

You may be familiar with the 420 number. Perhaps you have seen it in ads for roommates or jobs or ride shares—‘420 friendly’ listed along with other desirables such as ‘pet friendly’, ‘huge back yard’, and ‘free wifi.’ You may know that this has come to be known as the universal phrase for ‘it’s totally ok if you smoke weed because I am cannabis friendly.’ 

For those who like to partake in the lovely cannabis in whatever form, it is nice to know that you can do so without bothering anyone. And for those who do not like to partake and for whom perhaps the smell bothers, it’s nice to know to avoid this place as a possible place to live. 

But where does this number come from and how has it come to have this universal meaning? How has it become so universal that there is actually a holiday for it? This little handbook aims to answer those and many other questions surrounding the whole idea of 420.

There are a lot of theories out there about the origin of 420, a universal time to smoke—it’s 4:19, got a minute, and 4/20, the holiday that now celebrates all things cannabis. The theory I grew up with was that 420 was the code cops used to report people smoking pot—breaker, breaker 1-9, we’ve got a possible 420 happening on Baker Street. This was widely accepted in the mid 90s before marijuana was legal and Altitude Dispensary was around. 

Others have hypothesized that 420 was the amount of chemicals that were in the weed you were smoking. This one never held much water for me since weed is a plant and 420 is a huge number. 

Still others mention that 4/20 is Hitler’s birthday, though what that has to do with the price of grass in The US, I’m not sure. While others dig deeper making connections to favorite musicians and songs. For example, some think that Bob Dylan’s Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35, with nearly every line beginning with, “They’ll stone you…” “...when you’re walking on the street,” has something to do with it because 12 multiplied by 35 equals 420. (some people may be smoking a little too much.)

Regardless of the meaning and intent behind the now famous, or infamous number, Denver’s Altitude Dispensary has you covered for all your 4/20 events and celebrations this month. Check them out and be the life of the party when you arrive with all your favorites from your favorite Denver Dispensary.