Weather you consume cannabis regularly, sometimes or simply never, there is a great chance you have at least heard that the number 420 is somehow related to the cannabis culture. But not many actually know the real story behind it.

All urban myths and legends aside, the real origin of 420 dates back to 1971, when five high school students: Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz, and Mark Gravich in San Rafael, California, who called themselves the Waldos ( their chosen hang-out spot was a wall outside the school, hence the name), went on a hunt for a plot of cannabis plants that were supposedly growing near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard Station. They would meet at 4:20pm outside their school to drive to the area and carry out the search many times. Though they never found the patch, the numbers 420 becake a useful code for them to communicate with each other.

Now, April 20 has become an international counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis, and some of these events have a political nature to them, advocating the liberalization/legalization of cannabis.

Few of the best 420 festivals in the would be: “Smokeout Vancouver” or “420 Vancouver” in Vancouver, British Columbia.; the “The Denver 420 Festival” in Denver, Colorado,” the “Hempfest” in Seattle, Washington; the “Hippie Hill” in San Francisco, California; the “London 420 Rally” in London, UK; “Cjristiania” in Copenhagen, Denmark, and last but not least, the “Amsterdam 420 festival” in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

This year, the Amsterdam 420 Festival will be held at the Noorderlicht cafe where the guests will have the opportunity to attend the expo, get educated and enjoy the program. The biggest coffeeshop in the world, Prix D’Ami will be one of the official events sponsors of the 420 Fest.