VIA Politics Daily:
by Columnist, Andrew Cohen
Because April 20 is 4/20 and 4/20 is 4:20 and 4:20 is counterculture slang for the time of the day when pot smokers worldwide are supposed to toke up and ease themselves into whatever their particular evenings are destined to hold. Some attribute the code’s origin to Bob Dylan; some to a group of high school students in California in 1971. Either way, 4:20 has morphed into urban, suburban and rural legend. Don’t believe me? Just ask your teenager.
If you didn’t previously know about the significance of 4:20 — and I hadn’t, either, until I was 41 years old — you are among a dwindling number of (relatively) older Americans who are just now realizing that the end may be near for the much-whined-about era of criminalized marijuana possession and use. You may rejoice at this news. You may detest it. But you can’t deny the day grows nigh, mortality rates and demographics being what they are. 4:20 is already out of the closet. Sooner rather than later, it’s going to be a part of “Happy Hour” at the bar down the street.
State medical marijuana laws — 14 and growing at latest count — look like they are here to stay, especially now that the Justice Department has wisely stopped its efforts to enforce federal marijuana statutes that conflicted with looser state laws. It’s hard to imagine the next Justice Department rescinding that policy without a major court battle. And it’s hard to see even this Supreme Court declaring unlawful a state’s ballot-approved marijuana policy. The Justices had their chance last year and refused. Meanwhile, California plans to put to a statewide vote the question of whether the state “legalizes, controls, and taxes” marijuana. (And Humboldt County is apparently disappointed to lose its unique status in the annals of marijuana lore.)
Check out Devin The Dude with the Krackernuttz speaking about his album “Suite 420”, in stores Now!!
