NBC 420

We all know the local news attempts to scare its viewers in order to keep them watching. Usually, this is accomplished by reports about things that are endangering your children. And the most dangerous time, according to NBC 10’s Tim Furlong, is 4:20.

Four twenty, as you probably know, is slag for a time to smoke weed. Most likely, it comes from when a group of high school students in California would smoke up. (Some people in college said “smoke out”? I don’t know.) Somehow, the slang made it into popular culture, and today most people could tell you 4:20 is a marijuana reference. You would probably get in trouble in school for putting a 4:20 patch on your bookbag.

Furlong, who said he considers himself “a relatively hip guy,” didn’t know what 4:20 meant.

In “Fast Times At Ridgemont High,” Jeff Spicoli and his pal from Ridgemont High were pretty psyched with the final score of the football game, a strategically placed 4-2-0 on the scoreboard.

When Bruce Willis went down to the pawn shop basement in “Pulp Fiction,” you can see all the clocks are set to 4:20.

Wait, that’s the most recent reference they could get? Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Have kids today even seen that movie? Nobody tell Tim Furlong about How High, his head might explode.

The Pulp Fiction thing is pretty cool, though; I never knew that. Thanks for the easter egg!

The time is the lingo in a very dangerous drug culture that’s catching on with younger and younger children, according to Dr. David Rotenberg, the head of the Caron Addiction Treatment Center in Berks County:

“You know that they’ve started to smoke by age eight, nine, 10 or even younger in some extreme cases, but certainly starting before age 13,” Rotenberg said.

NBC 10 apparently had to go all the way to Berks County in order to find a guy who would tell them toddlers are smoking up. No parent wants their kid using drugs, but of all the drugs kids could be using, marijuana would seem to do the least harm.

Earlier in the report, Furlong talked to a person who he says almost had his life destroyed by marijuana, apparently?

[Evan] Wattles knows about 4:20. It just about ruined his life. “It’s a lot of things. It’s a symbol mostly. It’s supposed to be the best time to get high during the day. That’s what me and my friends thought,” Wattles said.

Wait. 4:20 nearly ruined his life? You can’t really blame the time, can you? If 4:20 didn’t exist as slang, this dude never would have done drugs? That seems kind of hard to believe. Also, did weed really ruin his life?

Emphasis mine:

Wattles came to the Caron Center to try to kick his habit. He’s been clean for some time now, and in fact, he came to meet with NBC 10 to help get the word out that parents should know about 4:20 and make sure they know where their children are at that time.

Yeah, as long as you keep an eye on your kid during that minute, there’s no way he or she could do any drugs.

Get-High Hour Is Dangerous Time For Kids [NBC 10]