420 event

420 event- Sunday marks the annual "4/20" holiday, when stoners around the world will gather to celebrate, and smoke, marijuana—an illegal tradition you won't find on any official calendar.

For decades, this counterculture tradition of getting high on April 20—4/20—was mostly confined to dorm rooms, hippie hide-outs and the basement of that neighbor of yours who watched cartoons all day.

No longer, though, as 420 now is going commercial. This year, the release of three documentaries, a Web-broadcast television show, concerts and stand-up comedy events have been timed to occur around April 20. The movie "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," which opens nationwide this week, has a marketing campaign that includes "420 parties" over the weekend in several cities, including Chicago.

In fact, 420 has gotten so big that some purists fear the commercialization glosses over "the reason for the season."

420 event