There is not much to say in favor of “celebrating” 4/20 anymore. Pop culture’s glorification of this criminalized "holiday" is extraordinarily irresponsible. Hailing 4/20 as some sort of stoner holiday only reinforces negative stereotypes of our youth culture’s supposed obsession with weed.
Furthermore, it stands to negatively impact the potential for marijuana to be legalized in the future as a legitimate medicinal tool.
And while it is not my business to tell readers how to treat their bodies, I feel compelled to express my view. I don’t care if you choose to smoke marijuana on April 20. I don’t care if you choose to smoke marijuana on any other day of the year. But to openly break the law on a day just for the sake of celebrating criminal behavior, well that is just foolish.
If there is any day on which police throughout the country would be on constant lookout for marijuana, it would be the 20th of April. Ask any student who has been arrested for marijuana use or sale, and they will agree: A drug charge is one thing you want to leave college without.
The celebration of 4/20 only serves to damage the attempts of citizens to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, as it continually perpetuates the seedy, underground manner in which it is consumed.
With the recent increase in publicity over marijuana being used as a prescribed drug and the subsequent reports of prescription abuse, the logical conclusion of any 4/20 observer is that all marijuana supporters are “pot heads” just looking to get high.
In reality, the arguments for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes are many. But, by bringing a negative shadow upon the topic of marijuana through excessive and publicized usage centered on one specific day, Elon students, as well as all other celebrators, distort the image of what could be a promising medical treatment.
Interestingly enough, the choice of April 20 as the patron holiday for all things THC is completely arbitrary and holds no significance. There have long been rumors that the number relates in some way to police codes for reporting incidents of marijuana use, but the truth is not nearly as exciting.
According to a Huffington Post article by Ryan Grim, the origin of the mystical number dates back to 1971. It was on April 20,1971 that a group of high school friends nicknamed the “waldos” (given for their reported habit of hanging out next to a wall) ventured into the Point Reyes, Calif. forest to find a “lost” patch of marijuana hidden within. However, the legend remains unclear whether they ever found this “lost” weed.
So if you feel the need to smoke those funky cigarettes, remember there is nothing special about doing it just because it’s April 20. Consider the message you're sending before you spend another day wasting away in Marijuanaville.