Welcome – April 2020

By
HeadQuest

It’s almost here.

You know what we’re talking about. The hazy holiday is almost upon us, and with it comes big celebrations and even bigger sales figures. Yes, we’re talking about 4/20. Puff, puff, pass out, etc. And this year, it lasts the whole damn month. Willie Nelson be praised!

But what are we even celebrating? Our favorite plant, yes, but why the same month as the tax deadline? Really, no one knows for sure, but there is one narrative that continues to win out as our legend of choice. Here’s the quick and dirty:

The year was 1971. Location: San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California. The cast: five high school stoners who called themselves “the Waldos.” As the story goes, they’d gotten wind of an abandoned secret grow site and somehow obtained a treasure map that would lead them to it. So, basically, The Goonies, but with better party favors. Each day, they would meet by a statue near the school to embark on their adventure to try to find the stash. The meeting time: 4:20pm. They never found the treasure, but they kept meeting anyway, because as it turns out, 4:20 is a perfect time for a toke.

That’s basically it. A bit underwhelming, but fairly believable, all things considered. Supposedly, the legend spread after one of the Waldos became a roadie for the Grateful Dead. The rest is history.

But is any of it true? Of course, it is. We saw it in a meme.

Happy 4/20/2020!

Recent Stories

Recent Articles

2026-06-01_20-59-01
By
Emily Long
Women in Cannabis – Dr. Chanda Macias
Dr. Macias first fell in love with science while studying at Howard University, where she completed her undergraduate studies and later earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology. While at Howard, she became especially interested in cancer research due to personal ties. Growing up in a Creole family and predominantly Black community in Louisiana, Dr. Macias watched many women around her battle breast cancer, so at Howard, she decided to focus her research on the BRCA1 gene.
2026-06-01_20-45-52
By
Matt Weeks
Cards Denied: Smoke Shops, Dispensaries, and the Paradox of Modern Banking
It’s almost amazing that the same institutions that brought us the 2008 financial crisis have a problem with selling glass pipes. Almost. The truth is that an industry's past sins are only held against it when the money isn’t right. Big banks were willing to risk cratering the U.S. housing market because the profits were too good to ignore. But the cannabis industry rolls a different kind of paper, so instead of a slap on the wrist, it gets a surcharge.
2026-06-01_20-34-44
By
Karen Maina
Print Lives! Why Flyers and Posters Still Work
Smokeshop and counterculture enthusiasts enjoy discovery as part of the experience. Customers enjoy browsing. When they walk into a shop, they don't simply grab a product and leave. They look for something new. This is the main reason flyers and posters still work. Smokeshops and dispensaries are highly visual environments. You want to see bold artwork, psychedelic graphics, and street-style posters that naturally capture attention.
2026-06-01_9-58-51
By
Joe Reefer
Cannabis in Sports: Exploring Famous Athletes’ Cannabis Usage
The use of cannabis in professional sports has always been a controversial subject. While some are firm believers that all substances should be banned from professional sports altogether, most people aren’t thinking about cannabis when they’re discussing performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In fact, there have been countless cannabis users in the world of professional sports throughout the years; some of whom are more open about their love for the plant than others.
NC Ban
By
Matt Weeks
Save Hemp, Save the World
North Carolina might save us all. A new state bill may be the industry’s best option to save itself from demise when new federal cannabinoid bans take effect in November. And it could use your support.
Tourism banner
By
Karen Maina
The Quiet Rise of Hemp Agritourism
Hemp is often considered for the things that it is not. It is not intoxicating, it is not illegal, and it is not marijuana. However, now we are seeing a focus back to what it can be. The plant is moving into the level of wine and chocolate and becoming a movement and a culture.
Schedule 3 1
By
Joe Reefer
What Does Schedule III Mean for the Industry?
It’s been several months since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III within the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). On paper, the recent executive order, entitled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research,” is a huge step in the right direction for cannabis smokers across the country.
Sate of 3
By
Matt Weeks
The State of the States
For years, we’ve been told that this industry is the Wild West: a place where the only law amounts to whatever the guy with the gun says. But over the last 12 months, state governments have passed a spate of new regulations that promise to swap the relative lawlessness of poor enforcement of vague rules with real law and order.