The Magic of 420 - or Present Lack Thereof

I used to be with 'it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it' anymore and what's 'it' seems weird and scary. It'll happen to you!

April 20th. 4-20. It used to be cool. What happened?

I remember wearing a Phillies Blunt t-shirt on 4-20-04; senior year in college was a constant smokefest. Me and Buddy Coolen blazin' out theater one at the Castle - it had closed, so Manager Matt let us in and we had a party.

This felt like an insiders' club; pot was something that could get you in trouble - we were celebrating our love for getting stoned, but also a sense of rebellion. Cannabis was about a counter culture then. The retort "smoke what?" when asked "Do you smoke?" - we all knew what that meant, and it wasn't cigarettes. Wearing that Phillies shirt to class - if you know you know.

I moved to Colorado, and it was a huge deal out here. 4-20-08; Justin was out here - him, Steve, and I went to the Farrand Field smoke out at CU Boulder, even though we were 26 at that point. Thousands of people smoking with no one shutting it down, no one getting tickets or getting arrested. No one cared. Boulder back then - holy shit it seemed so progressive compared to CT. You smoke weed on the New Haven green you're going to jail for sure. We used to smoke joints on the Pearl Street Mall and no one cared at all. It was decriminalized, what's the worst that happens - a $75 public use fine. Eat a dick, copper.

Then we legalized in 2012. Medical had been blowing up before then too - Obama was in office, he wasn't prosecuting people...dispensaries opened in 2009 and the scene got huge. Going down to Denver for 420 instead of Boulder - they basically cancelled the 420 CU event. But then it was red Rocks and Cervantes 420 events in it's place. Shit was legal and out in the open way more now.

I used to give out the 420 goodie bags at CampMinder every year. Weed, edibles, rolling papers, pipes - I was the weed Santa. Even when I took the day off I still showed up bearing gifts. It still felt hush-hush - "speak Swedish when you call the crib" LOL. it was legal, but could we really do this at work? Yeah, it wasn't a problem. I remember smoking with Dan and Paul on 4-20-12 out back on the old dock at the EcoProducts building.  I'd have big 420 parties during this time too - maybe 40 people came in 2015. Huge cookout, people trimming...all the weed you can smoke.

And now, somehow, it's gotten less fun for me. It's not underground anymore; there is no rebellion. Cannabis is a part of my - any many Coloradans - daily lives. Its 420 all the time now, all year, everyday. There isn't anything special about it anymore. I can't get in trouble for it. There is no special slang anymore to know if someone smoked. No club to join. Just storefronts on every corner. Don't get me wrong - legalization is great in that people don't go to jail for cannabis possession anymore. I can grow my own. It's widely accepted. These are all huge positives, and I would not trade legalization to go back to prohibition ever.

But it's just not as cool anymore. It's rote. If I ate Mexican food 3 meals a day all year, then Cinco De Mayo is not special. Same here - nothing is different about April 20th. I will certainly still keep having Harvest parties in the Fall - that's a great way to share with people and throw a get together. But 420...I don't know. I'm just not into it anymore.

22 year old Chris in senior year of college muses "you're just lame, old man."

Facts B.