April 20 is not one of history’s shiniest days. Hitler’s birthday and the shooting at Columbine stake permanent claim on the calendar. But, fortunately on a brighter note, 4/20 has also come to be known as unofficial National Marijuana Day. So, whether or not you’re gonna smoke, toke, bake, burn, blaze — or do whatever it is the kids are calling it nowadays — here are some ideas on how to celebrate today.
1. Figure out how the heck to to get Amsterdam. If you’re not already in driving distance of what some consider a mecca, with all that volcanic ash looming, you’re screwed. Better luck next year.
2. Test drive a Nissan Leaf and put your name on the waiting list — before you “celebrate” of course. An electric car is the modern equivalent to a VW Bus, which ironically, is not very green at all.
3. If you must, go fly a kite; kick a hacky sack; toss a frisbee. If you’re a matriculating student, or still live on or near a college campus, these activities are still considered somewhat forgivable.
4. Give $4.20 to someone who really needs it. In the spirit of hippie love, help someone worse off than you. If you don’t have the cash, be on the look out for where you can be useful to others today.
5. Enjoy Ben&Jerry’s Half Baked. Whether or not your state of mind reflects the flavor’s name, eating ice cream is always the right thing to do.
6. Stoner movie marathon. Skip work (if you have a job) and spend the day paying homage to the pastime’s gods. Cheech and Chong is obviously the way to kick things off, followed by Friday and How High?. If you’re still conscious, Dazed and Confused, Dude, Where’s My Car? and Harold and Kumar will should do the trick.
7. Educate and advocate. Procon.org is a good place to start. Recreational fan or not, get educated on the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. Policy changes will likely be coming to a voting booth near you.
8. Get your jam on. If there ever was a day to listen to The Grateful Dead, today would be it. The original stoner band blazed a hazy trail for countless other great bands like, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Phish, Widespread Panic, Sublime, Moe, Jimmy Hendrix and many more, which you should feel free to spend the rest of the day thinking up.
9. Say “4:20, dude” in your best stoner voice. Because today, you might get away with it.
10. Reality check. If today is feeling WAY too much like every other day of the year, there’s always Marijuana Anonymous.
Photo courtesy of Gerhard Taatgen@sxc.hu.