420 origins traced to San Rafael’s ‘Waldos’ [Video]

Marijuana culture’s high holiday, 420, falls on Saturday this year, an occasion celebrated by pot enthusiasts around the globe who gather under the haze of cannabis smoke by sharing joints in camaraderie.

But why is April 20 the day to light up? The origins stem from a group of five Marin County men, now in their 60s, who coined the slang term in 1971 while students at San Rafael High School. The group called themselves “the Waldos,” a term first used by comedian Buddy Hackett to describe odd people.

The clique consisted of David Reddix, Steve Capper, Larry Schwartz, Jeff Noel, and Mark Gravich, who routinely gathered at a specific spot on campus.

“We used to meet on this wall in the middle of school. And that’s how we got our name,” Reddix said. The then-teenagers were jokesters or “social satirists” whose only agenda was to bring laughter to those around them. …