Cannabis users all over the world celebrates 420 today.

Have you been wondering what the 420 celebration is about? TheNewsBeam has prepared 5 facts about this global celebration.

1) It started in 1971: The origin of this celebration is traced to 1971. A group of five high school students in San Rafael, California where the first to use the code ‘4:20’ to mean the time they planned to search for a cannabis crop to smoke.

2) The Five Students: Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich.

3) How ‘420’ came to Stay: The term 4:20 which was originally a time for the five students to search for cannabis crop to smoke, gradually became a slang for cannabis consumption.

4) Campaigns and Celebrations of 420: In the US and UK, the celebration of 420 usually appears as a campaign for the legalisation of the consumption and possession of cannabis. It’s celebrated on April 20 (4/20) at 4:20 p.m. annually.

According to a report by Independent, “In 2019 thousands of cannabis users met in Hyde Park, London, in celebration of 420 and to protest the existing laws prohibiting use and possession of cannabis in the UK.”

5) Public Smoking of Cannabis: Smoking cannabis has become a large scale ritual that happens on every 20th of April at public locations by 4:20 p.m. This is to revive the historical tradition of the 5 high school students in 1971.

Although, possession and consumption of cannabis in Nigeria are prohibited. That may not negate the fact that some would join in the celebration. As you join in the celebration, do act responsibly and avoid smoking in the presence of minors.