LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- April 20th signals 420 events all over the world. Perhaps not as well known as other observances, the 20th day of April at 4:20 in the afternoon is the signal for cannabis users to gather in parks, on campuses and other locations to smoke pot publicly and otherwise flaunt laws against the drug, says Narconon.

Starting about four years ago, 420 has taken on a different meaning as enterprising music promotion companies began parlaying modest 420 gatherings lasting a few minutes into massive Rave music festivals lasting from dusk to dawn, attended by 10,000 plus ravers. Another change, the drug involved was no longer cannabis; it was ecstasy – far more lucrative, far more tenacious and far, far more devastating in its effects.

Certain adjustments had to be made – such as this year when April 20th falls on a Wednesday. 420 festivals require a recovery day from the drug which makes going to work the next day highly unappealing for even the hardiest of ravers. Promoters have the solution – call the event a 420 Festival, then stage their usual rave acts on April 23rd. Today there are 420 Festivals taking place from Atlanta, Georgia, to Denver, Colorado, to multiple locations in California. The numbers involved are massive compared to earlier versions of 420, which means a big take for promoters and an even bigger take for ecstasy dealers.  

The connection between 420 and cannabis goes back to five high school boys in an obscure northern California town. They searched for a hidden abandoned marijuana farm every day for more than a year. Since their meeting place was a certain wall, they called themselves "the Waldos," and their meeting time, 4:20, became code for cannabis. Through a bizarre series of events and associations, the code word spread citywide, then nationwide, and internationally until ultimately 420 was part of the drug's lexicon and April 20th (4/20) the day for cannabis users worldwide to amass and smoke pot in public. The Waldos themselves have long since moved beyond their adolescent relationship with cannabis, as evidenced by this statement from one of the five: "I've got to run a business. I've got to stay sharp. Seems like everybody I know who smokes daily, or many times in a week, it seems like there's always something going wrong with their life, professionally, or in their relationships, or financially or something."  

Narconon® Drug Prevention Specialist, Bobby Wiggins, says, "These are exactly the kind of effects that can be expected when pot smoking dominates someone's life. As for what we can expect from more ecstasy use, life mishaps are not the problem. The problem ecstasy presents is unpredictable overdose on a drug that is used by dealers to lure the unwary into addiction to even harder substances."

Narconon has been helping people get free of the need to take drugs for more than four decades.

If you want to help someone move beyond cannabis, ecstasy or any other drug like "the Waldos" have, contact 1-800-775-8750, email info@narconon.org or visit www.narconon.org.  

Narconon and the Narconon logo are trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.

VNR: http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2011-04-0419-007-420-Events.shtml

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Narconon International