Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2012
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Authors: Rachel Emma Silverman and Rachel Dodes
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

HIGH EXPECTATIONS: MARKETERS HOPE FOR BUZZ TODAY

High Expectations: Marketers Hope for Buzz on 4/20 Marijuana Fans 
Celebrate April 20, but Some Hazy on Why; Movie Promos

April 20 marks a high holiday for marijuana enthusiasts, who have 
long used "420" as code for cannabis and who celebrate the date's 
appearance on the calendar-on April 20, or 4/20-with concerts, 
stoner-film marathons and controlled substances.

This year, with the date falling on a Friday, marketers are trying to 
get in on the buzz. Marijuana advocates say the commercialization 
just proves that pot is gaining mainstream acceptance; there were 
some 17.4 million users in 2010, up from 14.4 million in 2007, 
according to government data. But many are foggy on the date's origins.

Film studios hope to capitalize on the day with pot-themed film 
releases, while television networks and small businesses are running 
promotions. In Austin, Texas, a local nonprofit will unveil an 8-foot 
bronze statue of country musician and avowed cannabis fan Willie 
Nelson around 4:20 p.m. Friday.

Mr. Nelson, 78 years old, who has called for the creation of a 
"Teapot" party, with the rallying cry "Tax it, regulate it and 
legalize it!" says it wasn't his idea to unveil the statue on this 
date, but seems amused at the timing. "Someone else was sharp," he adds.

The unveiling date and time were actually a coincidence, event 
organizers say, chosen because the singer had a performance in Austin 
that night. Mr. Nelson's coming album features a track titled "Roll 
Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die."

The surge in 420-themed marketing comes as legalization of marijuana 
has become an increasingly polarizing issue. Some 16 states plus the 
District of Columbia have enacted laws to legalize marijuana for 
medical purposes. Others, including New York, have pending 
legislation to legalize it. For most of the country, however, pot 
remains illegal.

Magnolia Pictures is releasing "Marley," a documentary about the life 
of Rastafarian crossover star Bob Marley. The film's poster shows the 
numerals "4.20.12" over an image of the Jamaican flag. The film is 
being released Friday, in theaters and on demand. "It was an obvious 
choice," says Magnolia's president, Eamonn Bowles.

Production company Anchor Bay Entertainment is using the day to spark 
interest in "High School," which stars Oscar winner Adrien Brody as a 
pot dealer named Psycho Ed. He gets robbed by students intent on 
using his stash to sabotage a bake sale.

Ahead of the film's June 1 release, Anchor Bay invited press to a 
Friday morning screening in New York featuring "REEFreshments." 
Brownies served at the screening won't contain any real marijuana, 
the film's publicist says. Select "tastemakers" designated by the 
studio will receive packages containing brownies and a bag of 
oregano, a frequent stand-in for pot in movies and television. The 
film's trailer will go online at midnight on 4/20.

Comedy Central is airing Cheech & Chong's "Still Smokin" on Friday, 
and Showtime is doing promotions for "Weeds"-a series that stars 
Mary-Louise Parker as a pot-dealing mom-including a board on the 
social-media site Pinterest called "Weeds 4/20 Munchies!" featuring 
pictures of various snacks.

NotMYkid.org, a nonprofit seeking to prevent teen drug use, this year 
launched a parent-awareness campaign focusing on "420 culture."

"I'm very saddened to see this kind of marketing exists," says Debbie 
Moak, founder of NotMYkid.org, who adds that a lot of 420-related 
images reach teens and children. The group says April 20 is also 
known as "National Get High Day," when kids may try a variety of 
drugs for the first time. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based group 
distributed thousands of free home drug tests around the country on Thursday.

The origins of 420 are hazy, and theories range from paranoid 
speculation about California Highway Patrol codes for violations to 
the number of chemical compounds in cannabis.

The persistence of alternate theories is a downer for Steve Hager, 
editor emeritus of High Times magazine, who considers himself an 
expert on the holiday's roots.

After hosting 420-themed events-such as ceremonies at the Cannabis 
Cup convention in Amsterdam at 4:20 p.m.-Mr. Hager was contacted by a 
man named Steve Capper who claimed to have been one of the founders 
of the 420 tradition in the 1970s with a group of high-school buddies 
in California, known as the Waldos.

Mr. Hager agreed to investigate their claims. He met with five of the 
Waldos-and examined their letters referencing 420 that dated to the 
early 1970s. He subsequently published a story about his findings in 
the magazine.

According to Mr. Hager and Mr. Capper, the first time the Waldos met 
at 4:20 was to investigate a map from a friend with information about 
a plot of cannabis plants. They set the time to accommodate some 
Waldos' football practice and extracurriculars.

Mr. Capper, now 57 and the chief executive of a San Francisco 
financial-services company, says that the Waldos were hardly 
slackers. "We're not talking Spicoli at 'Fast Times at Ridgemont 
High' or Cheech & Chong," he says. He adds: "We were all fit, driven, 
intelligent guys." Mr. Capper plans to spend Friday at a business conference.

Mr. Capper says some of the Waldos' families knew members of the 
Grateful Dead, and the 420 term took hold among the band's numerous followers.

SweetWater Brewing Co. of Atlanta offers a 420 Extra Pale Ale and 
hosts a large 420 Fest musical concert every April. The beer's name 
came about because it was first brewed on April 20, in 1997. "It was 
dumb luck," says Steve Farace, the brewery's director of marketing. 
The number's other connotations, he adds, have "never been something 
we've promoted or been a part of, but we do get a ton of conversation 
out of it."

Mike MacLeod, owner of the 420 Spot, an Austin retailer of smoking 
accessories that will sponsor a reggae concert Friday, says he named 
his store 420 because the numerical signal is low-key.

At the University of Colorado in Boulder-where a large group, both 
students and others, have gathered in a quad to smoke pot for the 
past several years on April 20-school officials this year will close 
the quad entirely, spreading a malodorous fish-based fertilizer in 
the area to deter would-be smokers. Campus access will be restricted 
to students, faculty and staff Friday, university officials say.

An opposition group calling itself "Occupy Boulder" says it will host 
a "Take Back 420" march.

Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for 
the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, says the advocacy group's Web 
traffic increases five or sixfold every April 20 and the group has 
discounted its membership fee from $25 to $4.20 on the date.

"For us, 4/20 has definitely been momentous," he says. "We absolutely 
revel in how popular the day has become culturally and commercially."

Statue notwithstanding, for Willie Nelson, April 20 will be like any 
other day. "I won't be doing anything different," he says.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom