Daily Staff Writer

Out of all the other holidays, 4/20 remains one of the most celebrated days in American counter-culture. Thousands of people get together and participate in its less-than-legal traditions. For those who don’t know, 4/20 is slang for a day dedicated to marijuana.

According to an article by Steven Hager, editor of High Times magazine, the term was started by a group of students from San Rafael High school in California. The story Hager tells is that this group of friends, known as the Waldos, were going to go look for a secret pot patch and decided to meet at 4:20 p.m. after school. Eventually the term caught on and became slang for its own day.

So whether you’re going to be smoking it or just smelling it, there are still ways for those concerned with the legality of 4/20 to celebrate. FYI has compiled some of the best movies and music that pay homage to the dope culture. Enjoy.

Good music, good times

go together with this playlist

Pink Floyd

Who else has an album that you should listen to while watching a movie on mute? (Google “Dark Side of the Rainbow”)

Sublime

According to Merriam-Webster, “to convert something inferior into something of higher worth.”

Cypress Hill

Think now, how many Cypress Hill songs aren’t about weed?

Incubus

OK, seriously – their name rhymes with cannabis. Sort of.

Bob Marley

The king of all that has to do with 4/20.

Snoop Dogg

Do we even need to explain this one?

Ben Harper

There is nothing like a bit of Ben Harper to “burn one down.”

Tom Petty

Is there really a “Last dance with Mary Jane?”

The Beatles

The beginning, the end, the classic.

Green Day

Yeah, they used to write about drugs – not politics.

My 4/20 Playlist

“Feva for the Flava” – Hot Action Cop

“Get Stoned” – Hinder

“You don’t know how it feels” – Tom Petty

“Independently Happy” – Blue October

“One Love” – Bob Marley

“Yes Please” – Muse

“Cocaine” – Eric Clapton

“Smoke Two Joints” – Sublime

‘Champagne Supernova” – Oasis

“Not an Addict” – K’s Choice

“Longview” – Green Day

“Island In the Sun” – Weezer

“Easy Skankin” – Bob Marley

“Breathe” – Pink Floyd

“Sex and Candy” – Marcy Playground

“Lithum” – Nirvana

— Rusty Anderson

Take advantage of your state with funny, mind-trippy films

By Jill Blackledge

Daily Staff Writer

Many people don’t think of April 20 as any special day. However, to a sect of American culture, April 20 is regarded as a holiday to marijuana, in keeping with the phrase “4/20,” a slang term for cannabis. And what is there to do while smoking? Watch a movie, of course. Here is a list of movies that some people may find to be worth every puff.

“Up in Smoke”

A mix-up over some marijuana gets Cheech and Chong deported to Mexico. They have to drive a van to get back in time for a gig with their band, all the while being chased by the police. Cheech and Chong are the quintessential stoners, and this film is one of their more popular titles.

“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”

Two roommates spend a night questing for White Castle hamburgers in New Jersey. Much like Cheech and Chong, the film follows the unbelievable and absurd antics of two friends on a journey together.

“American Beauty”

A suburbanite experiences a mid-life crisis – he quits his job, he picks up smoking marijuana and lusts after his teenage daughter’s friend. His depression and subsequent actions damage the family. This film strips away the gloss of suburbia and shows the deterioration of a nuclear American family.

“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”

In a story based on director Cameron Crowe’s real-life events, a group of California teenagers deal with romance and conflicts with teachers in high school. Sean Penn delivers a classic performance that embodies the very essence of a stoner surfer-dude who lives for sex, drugs and rock and roll.

“American Graffiti”

Four teenagers spend one last night together before college. One looks for a girl, while another tries to salvage his relationship with his girlfriend. Two others have wild times while trying to pick up girls in their cars. They have to deal with their personal inhibitions and awakenings as they prepare to leave for college the next day.

“Dazed and Confused”

Upperclassmen haze freshman in a rural Texas town in 1976. The boys face physical punishment, while the girls are verbally hazed and humiliated, and one freshman in particular is pitted against a certain senior. The film paints a picture of high school’s distinct groups of nerds, athletes and stoners.

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”

Adapted from Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s novel and directed by Terry Gilliam, this film details a crazy cross-country trip made by Thompson and his Samoan lawyer. Driven greatly by alcohol and drugs, they pursue their own version of the American dream. What they find instead sends them on a psychological trip.

“Reefer Madness”

Also known as “Tell your Children,” “Reefer Madness” is formatted as a propaganda film presented to the PTA by a school principal. Two characters, Mae and Jack, lure high schoolers to Mae’s apartment to smoke, leading the students to ruin. Made in 1936, the film is meant to be a cautionary story against the use of drugs.

“Fight Club”

An office worker becomes bored with his average, middle-class life. To fill up the emptiness he feels, he dives into an aggressive form of therapy with the help of an eccentric Tyler Durden. What he doesn’t know is whether this man will lead him down a spiral of destruction or not. “Fight Club” explores the psyche of someone in relation to material needs in society and self-destruction.

“Half Baked”

Three men scheme to bail their friend out of jail. In order to raise the money they need, they decide to sell marijuana and end up becoming involved with a rapper, a rival dealer and the anti-pot daughter of another dealer. The film follows the crazy, drug-induced happenings that ensue as the men attempt to rescue their friend.