Saturday, April 20, 2024

420 Celebration - High Times & Recipes

Acapulco Gold, Texas Tea, Panama RedMaui Wowie, Mary Jane, chronic, ganja, pot, weed, grass, kush, herb, joint, blunt, roach, cannabis, reefer, spliff, fatty, jay, doobie, and locoweed, are just some of the euphemisms for marijuana.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Many pot shops have a green cross or green type somewhere on their building. This comes from when marijuana was first legal in L.A. for medical purposes only - I guess it's a play on the Red Cross?

Click on any photo to see larger.

420 Coast to Coast
Venice, Los Angeles
East Village, New York City

This month 420 is celebrated with pot shop gift bags (given with a minimum purchase) and free handouts. 


Here is my local marijuana dispensary, just down the street where there's usually a line on this underground holiday.


I'm not the Wake-and-Bake type, and I don't blaze up every day, anyway.


If you're out of the loop, 420 or April (4th month) and day 20, is an international celebration of all things marijuana. The term "420" supposedly originated in 1971 here in California by a bunch of high school buddies who would meet at 4:20pm to smoke weed. You can read about it here.


When California introduced medical marijuana legally in 1996 I waited a couple of years before I got a prescription. Like a lot of locals, I was paranoid about putting my name in a database of users. But after a while, I realized that I'm never gonna run for President or head the FBI.

FYI my medical condition was a pain in the...elbow.

Getting a prescription was a farce really, pay the doctor $100 bucks, pick your ailment, and walk out with legal papers. Now anyone who's 18 or older with a physician's recommendation (medicinal use) and 21 or older (adult use) can purchase marijuana, so that song and dance are no longer played.


I've been a contributing citizen to the economy and a creative artist most of my life so all the boogeyman stories of reefer madness don't fly here.

When I was in high school I primarily used it when listening to music, as it was the 1960's and getting high brought a heightened experience and meaning to the lyrical and sonic content of songs by The BeatlesRolling StonesThe KinksJefferson AirplanePink FloydBob Dylan, etc.


And it was just a fun thing to do with friends on the weekend and long summer dazes.


Just watch my Mom's recipe for Tex-Mex Enchiladas to see my high school buddy Marvin and I have a 1960's flashback hanging out and listening to album rock in my bedroom.



These days I like a cannabis-infused edible from time to time. They will last a couple of hours, just right for an art show, movie, or musical concert at the Hollywood Bowl


Like alcohol, cannabis has similar laws and penalties for public intoxication and operating machinery/automobiles.


Check out some of the concerts I've seen there, including a Willie Nelson concert where I've never smelled so much marijuana in my life!


I'll leave you with another recipe should you be in need of some munchies while celebrating 420  - that is, not my recipe, but one from my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef! Check out a tasty cheesy Cajun Nachos video made with nephew Zak!


Cajun Natchos calls for cooked crawfish tail meat, but it's easy to substitute small shrimp or any favorite protein.

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