1. "420" doesn't mean as much as you think it does
There are countless rumors regarding the origins of "420": Hitler's birthday, police codes, the Grateful Dead. However, it seems like the most likely story comes from San Rafael, where a group of five high school students known as the Waldos coined the term in 1971. They used the phrase "4:20-Louis" to indicate that they would be meeting at that time at the statue of Louis Pasteur outside of their school. After awhile, the "Louis" got dropped but the term stayed as the boys would continue to meet at the same time each week.
2. But the name "marijuana" might actually come from "mary jane"
The term "marijuana" comes from a Mexican slang term for cannabis and is believed to have derived from the Spanish pronunciation of the names Mary and Jane -- common Mexican military slang for a prostitute or brothel. Kinda ironic that weed is given a traditionally feminine name, considering...
3. Women might not experience the same high as men
Don't take this too hard, but apparently, females develop a tolerance to THC much more quickly than males and are much more susceptible to the bad parts -- paranoia, anxiety, and so on. According to research at Washington State University, estrogen levels are a huge part of how THC affects you -- the only symptom males seem to experience more than females is the munchies.
4. We're pretty sure weed is legal in North Korea
It's tough to say anything definitive about this, but North Korea's apparent stance on marijuana is surprising. According to multiple reports from defectors, visitors and experts, North Korea either has no law against the sale and consumption of weed, or it has a law that is largely unenforced. But even so, in the US...
5. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug
That's alongside heroin, LSD, ecstasy and other mind-altering substances. Kinda weird, right? After the first major federal legislation regulating food and drug labeling was passed in 1906, the process of restricting marijuana use continued both federally and on the state level. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is what defined marijuana as a "Schedule I" -- defined as "the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence." It's like they totally forgot about that time that...
6. Weed was actually pretty important for America
Hemp was actually a staple cash crop of the family farm in early America. The first two drafts of the United States Declaration of Independence were written on hemp paper, and the first law in the American colonies regarding marijuana was a 1619 law that actually required farmers to grow it. Once harvested, hemp was useful for clothing, sails, and rope. Plus, you might've guessed it...
7. Weed used to be food
Okay, not really, but Cannabis seeds were used as a food source in China as early as 6000 B.C. The first recorded use of marijuana as a medicinal drug occurred in 2737 B.C. by Chinese emperor Shen Nung, who documented the drug's effectiveness in treating the pains of rheumatism and gout. Although this is awesome, it's probably safer to mention that...
8. There's a shitton of myths about weed
I guess this is more of a disclaimer, but you would be baffled at the amount of totally wrong information about marijuana on the internet. Don't believe everything you read, because gathering facts about weed with reputable sources is surprisingly tough. Actually, this perfectly leads into a final interesting fact...
9. The US is finally at it's "tipping point"
Which basically means that people think policy reform is going to go great. Gallup polls have shown that 58 percent of Americans think that marijuana usage should be made legal, which is the first time in U.S. history that more than half of Americans have supported legalization. The great thing about that? Less uninformed myths on the internet.
Oh, and tons of other stuff too.
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