Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in nearly half the states and the nation’s capital. Many states have instituted “social equity” measures to help communities of color, harmed the most by the drug war, reap financial benefits from legalization. And the White House has shown an openness to marijuana reform. Here’s a look at 4/20’s history: Why 4/20? The origins of the date, and the term “420” generally, were long murky. Some claimed it referred to a police code for marijuana possession or that it derived from Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35,” with its refrain of “Everybody must get stoned” — 420 being the product of 12 times 35. But the prevailing explanation is that it started in the 1970s with a group of bell-bottomed buddies from San Rafael High School, in California’s Marin County north of San Francisco, who called themselves “the Waldos.” A friend’s brother was afraid of getting busted for a patch of cannabis he was growing in the woods at nearby Point Reyes, so he drew a map and gave the teens permission to harvest the crop, the story goes. During fall 1971, at 4:20 p.m., just after classes and football practice, the group would meet up at the school’s statue of chemist Louis Pasteur, smoke a joint and head out to search for the weed patch. They never did find it, but their private lexicon — “420 Louie” and later just “420” — would take on a life of its own. The Waldos saved postmarked letters and other artifacts from the 1970s referencing “420,” which they now keep in a bank vault, and when the Oxford English Dictionary added the term in 2017, it cited some of those documents as the earliest recorded uses. How did ‘420’ spread?  A brother of one of the Waldos was a close friend of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, as Lesh once confirmed in an interview with the Huffington Post, now HuffPost. The Waldos began hanging out in the band’s circle and the slang spread. Fast-forward to the early 1990s: Steve Bloom, a reporter for the cannabis magazine High Times, was at a Dead show when he was handed a flyer urging people to “meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais.” High Times published it. “It’s a phenomenon,” one of the Waldos, Steve Capper, now 69, once told The Associated Press. “Most things die within a couple years, but this just goes on and on. It’s not like someday somebody’s going to say, ‘OK, Cannabis New Year’s is on June 23rd now.’” While the Waldos came up with the term, the people who made the flier distributed at the Dead show — and effectively turned 4/20 into a holiday — remain unknown. How is it celebrated?  With weed, naturally. Some celebrations are bigger than others: The Mile High 420 Festival in Denver, for example, typically draws thousands and describes itself as the largest free 4/20 event in the world. Hippie Hill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park has also attracted massive crowds, but the gathering was canceled this year, with organizers citing a lack of financial sponsorship and city budget cuts. College quads and statehouse lawns are also known for drawing 4/20 celebrations, with the University of Colorado Boulder historically among the largest, though not so much since administrators banned the annual smokeout over a decade ago. Some breweries make beers that are 420-themed, but not laced, including SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta, which is throwing a 420 music festival this weekend and whose founders went to the University of Colorado. Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma, California, releases its “Waldos’ Special Ale” every year on 4/20 in partnership with the term’s coiners. That’s where the Waldos will be this Saturday to sample the beer, for which they picked out “hops that smell and taste like the dankest marijuana,” one Waldo, Dave Reddix, said via email. 4/20 has also become a big industry event, with vendors gathering to try each other’s wares. Joseph DuPuis, co-founder of Doc & Yeti Urban Farms, a licensed cannabis producer, looks out into a growing area in Tumwater, Wash., March 15, 2023. (Eugene Johnson /AP Photo, File) The politics The number of states allowing recreational marijuana has grown to 24 after recent legalization campaigns succeeded in Ohio, Minnesota and Delaware. Fourteen more states allow it for medical purposes, including Kentucky, where medical marijuana legislation that passed last year will take effect in 2025. Additional states permit only products with low THC, marijuana’s main psychoactive ingredient, for certain medical conditions. But marijuana is still illegal under federal law. It is listed with drugs such as heroin under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has no federally accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The Biden administration, however, has taken some steps toward marijuana reform. The president has pardoned thousands of people who were convicted of “simple possession” on federal land and in the District of Columbia. The Department of Health and Human Services last year recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified as Schedule III, which would affirm its medical use under federal law. According to a Gallup poll last fall, 70 per cent of adults support legalization, the highest level yet recorded by the polling firm and more than double the roughly 30per cent who backed it in 2000. Vivian McPeak, who helped found Seattle’s Hempfest more than three decades ago, reflected on the extent to which the marijuana industry has evolved during his lifetime. “It’s surreal to drive by stores that are selling cannabis,” he said. “A lot of people laughed at us, saying, ‘This will never happen.’” Police handcuff a suspect during a drug raid in Miami, May 18, 1979. (Al Diaz, / AP Photo, File) What does it mean?  McPeak described 4/20 these days as a “mixed bag.” Despite the legalization movement’s progress, many smaller growers are struggling to compete against large producers, he said, and many Americans are still behind bars for weed convictions. “We can celebrate the victories that we’ve had, and we can also strategize and organize to further the cause,” he said. “Despite the kind of complacency that some people might feel, we still got work to do. We’ve got to keep earning that shoe leather until we get everybody out of jails and prisons.” For the Waldos, 4/20 signifies above all else a good time. “We’re not political. We’re jokesters,” Capper has said. “But there was a time that we can’t forget, when it was secret, furtive. … The energy of the time was more charged, more exciting in a certain way. “I’m not saying that’s all good — it’s not good they were putting people in jail,” he continued. “You wouldn’t want to go back there.” ___ Associated Press writer Claire Rush contributed from Portland, Oregon.

In this season of the podcast Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent has explored the topic of weight: what it really tells you about your health, why it’s so hard to lose, how the new diet drugs work and its links to menopause (you can listen to the episodes here).

Whether you are happy with your size or not, whether you follow a special diet or eat what you want when you want, the basic fact of life — unavoidable, inescapable, non-negotiable — is that we all have to eat. If we are fortunate, it’s usually up to five times a day, every day.

How you choose to nourish yourself can make a big difference in how you feel, not only in your body, but about yourself and the world around you.

“I had this babysitter who was a chronic dieter,” Dr. Linda Shiue, an internal medicine physician and trained chef, told Gupta on the podcast recently. “She would eat this colorless, aroma-less food and she was sad all the time.”

That is not Shiue’s style. She is the first director of culinary medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. That’s where she founded Thrive Kitchen, a teaching kitchen for patients, so she could do more than just hand out prescriptions for chronic conditions.

She wanted to create a place where she could teach her patients to make healthy food taste good. “They think it’s deprivation and, you know, loss of joy and kind of penance even,” said Shiue, who is also the author of “Spicebox Kitchen: Eat Well and Be Healthy with Globally Inspired, Vegetable-Forward Recipe.” “It’s colorless, it’s bland, it has no texture, it has no flavor and — we’re not supposed to enjoy it.”

Similar to her cookbook, Shiue’s classes show patients how to use spices and herbs to flavor seasonal cuisine while following an eating pattern that supports health.

“As a food lover since birth, and a physician who has seen the negative effects of chronic dieting, I encourage people to reframe their relationship to food as a source of pleasure, cultural connection and well-being, regardless of weight. This can be a hard task given the pro-diet messaging that surrounds us,” Shiue said in an email.

What can you do to break out of the diet mindset and really enjoy your food? Shiue has five tips.

Stop judging food as good or bad

Food isn’t intrinsically good or evil, so there is no need to feel bad about food choices.

“Many of us have experienced shame or guilt around food, and a lot of that is a product of our culture and what the food industry has taught us and what the fashion and whole dieting industries have created,” Shiue said.

“Even though we, as an individual, may not even think that we care that much about that message, it’s reached all of us — it’s in all of our subconscious,” she said. “I think that most people at some point feel like, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t eat that. That’s bad for me. It might affect my weight.’”

Shiue wants to help people learn how to stop thinking that way. “There’s no room for shame on the plate,” she said, choosing her language around food carefully.

“In diet culture, people talk about ‘cheat’ days (but) I prefer to celebrate ‘treat’ days. Everything in moderation, and that means there is room for the occasional indulgence,” she said.

Don’t go on ‘diets’

Restrictive diets are counterproductive because most of us won’t be able to stick to them perfectly and forever.

“(S)tudy after study has proven that the best eating plan is the one which any given individual can stick with — a sustainable lifestyle change,” Shiue said.

“Rather than restricting, add more of the foods (that) science shows us are better for our health: lots of plants, legumes and whole grains. This will improve your health even if (you) aren’t eating ‘perfectly’ all the time, and even if you don’t lose weight,” she said.

Shiue admitted to not eating perfectly all the time and having a sweet tooth; she said she allows herself to enjoy her favorite treats — just not all the time.

Listen to your body

Eat intuitively.

“That means several things,” said Shiue said. “First, are you actually hungry, or are you feeding an emotional need, such as anxiety, sadness, or fatigue?

“How does the food make you feel after you eat? Do you feel comfortably full, or are you feeling stuffed? How is your energy level after eating?” she said. “When you pay attention to these feelings, your body will guide you to making the healthiest food choices for you.”

Also, eat mindfully, which Shiue said does not mean meditating over your food.

“It means when you’re eating your food, just focus on the pleasure of that,” she said. “Eat slowly. Chew your food. … Also pay attention to when you’ve had enough.”

Reclaim your food heritage

Healthy diets can come from a variety of ethnicities and customs, and they can contain a cornucopia of flavors and ingredients.

“A lot of people were taught that quote-unquote ‘cultural food’ … is not healthy,” Shiue said. “People are told, ‘Oh no, no: The food that you eat, that’s why you have diabetes. You have to eat this kind of standard, healthy American diet.’”

But she said that many people from different backgrounds either don’t want to switch diets, or they don’t know how or it just doesn’t work out — and, Shiue said, they really don’t have to.

“The traditional diet of every culture contains healthy foods, and should be celebrated, with pleasure,” she said.

Think beyond calories

Remind yourself that food is more than a way to simply stay alive.

“Nutrition and sustenance — that’s only one small part of food,” Shiue said. “Food is, for me, mainly pleasure. It’s a connection to myself, to my loved ones, to my culture.”

She added food is also an expression of love and caring.

“Enjoy your food,” she said.

Some people love to wash their car, and for others, it’s their most hated chore. It’s a necessity for car owners, so no matter where you fall on the love-hate spectrum, you want a car wash that’s going to give your car a deep clean that lasts. Automatic car washes are at almost any gas…

  When you take your car to the car wash, there are multiple add-ons available, and one common choice is spray-on wax. It may seem like it doesn’t make a difference, but there are some important benefits. And these benefits go beyond how shiny your will car looks. What Are the Benefits of Waxing Your…

Even when you are lucky enough to start with an empty room, it can be overwhelming to design an interior that you can enjoy for years to come. Following some basic interior design principles, you can transform your space into a relaxing room you will be comfortable and happy with. Decide what your focal point will be and build out from there.  For best results, keep proportion and scale in mind as you decorate as well as these tips!

 Deciding on Your Focal Point
Do you have a magnificent bay window with an incredible view?  Is there an ornate mantle that is the reason you fell in love with your home? Or is there something you absolutely MUST HAVE in the room? Situate your furniture around your chosen focal point to create balance and equilibrium. If your room does not already have an existing focal point, create one with oversized art or add an accent point like a free-standing fireplace, they come in a variety of sizes and styles. Symmetrically balance the room evenly so that both sides mirror one another.  This will help your chosen focal point stand out all the more! Use matching accent tables to flank your sofa or use different pieces of furniture to create a copacetic visual impact, like two similar armchairs to balance a sofa.
Repetition for Rhythm
Rhythm creates a flow and helps direct the eye to the differing visual elements in your room. Just as the notes of a favorite song repeat to create the rhythm, repetition in decor will create a rhythm throughout a home. Establish visual interests with a rhythm throughout your space by placing similar colours or patterns at intervals and repeat in artwork, cushions or area rugs.

Perfect Proportion and Suitable Scaling
Who doesn’t love a large, overstuffed chair? But if your room is on the smaller size it may look out of place and make your room seem even smaller than it is. Keep proportion in perspective. Proportion is the ratio between a piece of furniture and the size of a room. Scale is the size of a piece of furniture in relation to the other pieces of furniture in the room. A super large chair will overpower an apartment of loft size sofa or loveseat and create a sense of unbalance in the room.

Have your room humming harmoniously
Creating harmony will enhance how much you will continue to love your finished. Pull the room with a subdued colour palette for a pleasing, harmonious vibe.   together for a pleasing, harmonious look with a subdued color palette. You can also use a single colour for elements that vary in size and shape. Check out our blog on Doing White on White Right! for more tips!

What is the focal point in your room?  What is your best tip to find harmony and balance through your home?