420 Day, also known as Weed Day, has become an annual celebration for cannabis enthusiasts around the world. On this day, people come together to advocate for the legalization of marijuana, share their experiences, explore the medicinal benefits, and have some good old-fashioned fun.
The movement towards the legalization of marijuana has gained significant momentum in recent years. With more and more states in the US legalizing either medicinal or recreational use, it’s clear that attitudes towards cannabis are shifting. The benefits of legalization include increased tax revenue, regulation of the industry, and a shift in law enforcement priorities toward more pressing matters.
One of the reasons why 420 Day holds such significance is its deep-rooted history. The term “420” originated back in the 1970s, when a group of high school students in California would gather at 4:20 PM to smoke marijuana. This soon became their secret code for meeting up and indulging in their favorite pastime. The term gained further popularity when one of the students, Dave Reddix, who happened to be a roadie for the Grateful Dead, shared it with the band. From there, it spread like wildfire and became synonymous with cannabis culture.
In 1991, High Times magazine printed a flyer inviting people to gather on April 20th, 1990, at 4:20 PM for a smoke-filled event. This event further solidified the association between 420 and cannabis, forever memorializing the date.
Nowadays, 420 Day is a chance for people all over the world to come together, both physically and digitally, to celebrate their love for marijuana. Social media platforms are flooded with posts, hashtags, and discussions about the plant, its benefits, and the ongoing fight for its legalization.
So, how can you celebrate 420 Day? Well, there are plenty of options! You can share your thoughts and experiences about marijuana, educate yourself about the laws and legislation in your state, or dive into the realm of medicinal cannabis and its potential benefits. And of course, don’t forget to use the hashtag #420Day to join in and connect with others who are also celebrating this special day.
As 420 Day continues to grow in popularity, it serves as a reminder that the conversation surrounding marijuana is evolving. Whether you’re an advocate for legalization, a casual cannabis user, or simply curious about the topic, 420 Day offers a platform for open dialogue and a chance to learn, connect, and celebrate together. So grab your favorite strain, roll a joint, and let the festivities begin! Happy 420 Day!
420 (cannabis culture)
In cannabis culture, the term “420” or “4:20” refers to the consumption of marijuana and hashish, particularly smoking around 4:20 pm (16:20). It is also associated with cannabis-related celebrations that occur annually on April 20th (4/20 in U.S. date format).
Despite two studies reporting an increase in the risk of fatal motor vehicle crashes on April 20, further investigation and analysis found no evidence to support such claims.
Theft of signs with the number 420 is common in the US. In Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation replaced the Mile Marker 420 sign on I-70 east of Denver with one that reads 419.99 to prevent theft, but it was also stolen and became a tourist attraction. The sign is now missing. After the frequent theft of mile marker signs with the number 69, the Colorado DOT started replacing them with 68.5 mile signs. Similarly, the Idaho Department of Transportation replaced the mile marker 420 sign on U.S. Highway 95 with mile marker 419.9, and the Washington State Department of Transportation replaced one of their two 420 signs, but the remaining one was stolen. According to The Washington Post, there are eleven 420 mile markers in the US after replacements and thefts. In Goodhue County, Minnesota, 420 St street signs were changed to 42x St. The mile marker 420 sign on U.S. Route 89 in Utah is frequently stolen.
Legislation and other government recognition
In 2003, the California Senate introduced Senate Bill 420 to regulate the use of medical marijuana, deliberately referencing the significance of 420 in marijuana culture. In 2010, an unsuccessful bill to legalize cannabis in Guam was called Bill 420. Similarly, a bill to legalize cannabis in North Dakota was introduced in January 2021, known as HB 1420.
On April 20, 2018, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York), the Senate Minority Leader, announced the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act. This act aims to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis in the United States. Additionally, on January 9, 2019, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) introduced H.R. 420 to the 116th Congress. The bill is called the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act and aims to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and return the regulation to the states.
The State of Colorado held an auction for cannabis-themed personalized license plates in 2021. The bidding was set to close on April 20 (4/20) and the highest bid before the auction closed was over $6,500 for plate “ISIT420.”
After Initiative 71 legalized cannabis in Washington, D.C. in 2014, Mayor Muriel Bowser granted license plate number 420 to the leader of the campaign, Adam Eidinger.
Literature?
There are cannabis cookbooks available with “420” in their title, such as The 420 Cannabis Cookbook published by Simon & Schuster, and The 420 Gourmet published by HarperCollins in 2016.There are cannabis cookbooks available with “420” in their title, such as The 420 Cannabis Cookbook published by Simon & Schuster, and The 420 Gourmet published by HarperCollins in 2016.
Elon Musk controversy
In 2018, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted his intention to take his company private at $420 per share. The price was widely believed to reference marijuana culture. In 2023, a jury found him not guilty of misleading investors. During the trial, Musk testified that any association with cannabis was purely coincidental. Later in 2022, Musk bought Twitter at a price per share of $54.20. He acknowledged the reference to marijuana culture and explained that he did it because his girlfriend found it amusing.
DoorDash Driver Arrested After Claiming Sexual Assault: What Really Happened?
A DoorDash driver who claimed she was sexually assaulted during a delivery is now facing felony charges after police say her viral video showed an unconscious, partially nude customer without consent. Here’s what investigators found and why the case is sparking national debate.
DoorDash delivery driver involved in a viral video controversy after claiming sexual assault; police say no assault occurred, and the driver now faces felony charges.
DoorDash Driver Arrested After Claiming Sexual Assault: What Really Happened?
A Viral Accusation Turns Into a Criminal Case
A routine food drop-off turned into a national controversy this month after a DoorDash delivery driver claimed she was sexually assaulted during a delivery — only to later be arrested herself following a police investigation. The incident, which quickly spread across TikTok and other platforms, has generated fierce debate over privacy, personal safety, and the power of viral video culture.
The driver, identified as Livie Rose Henderson, posted a video on social media in mid-October claiming that when she arrived at a customer’s home in Oswego, New York, she found the front door open and discovered a man “half-naked and unconscious” on his couch. She publicly described the moment as a sexual assault, saying she felt endangered and traumatized.
Her posts went viral almost immediately, drawing attention from millions of viewers and sparking outrage over the safety risks faced by gig workers — particularly women — who make deliveries to unfamiliar homes.
But the narrative took a dramatic turn.
Police: No Sexual Assault Occurred
According to the Oswego Police Department, an investigation found no evidence that Henderson was sexually assaulted. Instead, authorities say that she:
Entered the home without consent
Recorded the unconscious customer, who was partially nude
Posted the footage online, identifying him
Made claims police say were “false and misleading”
Investigators concluded the man was intoxicated and unconscious, not acting with intent or awareness. As a result, Henderson was arrested and charged with:
Second-degree unlawful surveillance (felony)
First-degree dissemination of unlawful surveillance images (felony)
Police emphasized that recording a person who is nude or partially nude inside their home — regardless of context — constitutes a violation of New York’s surveillance and privacy laws if done without permission.
DoorDash Drops the Driver
Henderson also claimed that DoorDash deactivated her account, something she described as retaliation for “exposing her assaulter.” But following her arrest, DoorDash stated that recording customers inside their homes violates company policy and local laws.
DoorDash said it cooperated with investigators but declined to comment further on personnel matters.
A Complicated Public Reaction
Social media reaction has been sharply divided:
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Sympathy for the driver
Many viewers initially supported Henderson, arguing that gig workers often deal with unsafe conditions and should not be forced to decide between finishing a delivery or backing away from a potentially threatening situation.
Backlash over privacy violations
Others argue that Henderson crossed legal and ethical boundaries by:
Entering a private residence
Recording a vulnerable, unconscious person
Posting it publicly
Accusing the individual of a crime without evidence
These actions, critics say, show the dangerous consequences of rushing to social media before police or professional investigators evaluate the facts.
The Larger Issue: Safety vs. Responsibility
This case highlights a broader tension in the era of app-based work and viral content:
Gig workers do indeed face unpredictable and sometimes unsafe situations.
Customers have a right to privacy in their homes.
Social media, meanwhile, rewards the fastest and most dramatic version of a story — even before the truth is known.
As the criminal process continues, Henderson’s case may set a new precedent for how privacy laws interact with the realities of delivery work and the instant visibility of online platforms.
Focuses on the legal perspective, privacy violations, and the potential consequences of posting sensitive content online.
STM Daily News is a vibrant news blog dedicated to sharing the brighter side of human experiences. Emphasizing positive, uplifting stories, the site focuses on delivering inspiring, informative, and well-researched content. With a commitment to accurate, fair, and responsible journalism, STM Daily News aims to foster a community of readers passionate about positive change and engaged in meaningful conversations. Join the movement and explore stories that celebrate the positive impacts shaping our world.
How China cleaned up its air pollution – and what that meant for the climate
How China cleaned up its air pollution: Beijing’s air quality went from hazardous to good while Delhi and Lahore still struggle. Discover how China dramatically reduced pollution since 2013—and why cleaner air may have unintended consequences for global warming and climate change.
Delhi: 442. Lahore: 334. Beijing: 16. These are the levels of PM 2.5, one of the principle measures for air pollution, on November 19. As Pakistanis and Indians struggle with hazardous air quality, in Beijing – a city once notorious for its smog – the air quality is currently rated as good. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government was so concerned about pollution that it introduced temporary restrictions on cars, shut down factories and stopped work on some construction sites. The measures worked and one study later found that levels of air pollution were down 30% during the period when the temporary Olympic restrictions were in place. It would take a few more years before the Chinese government implemented a clean air action plan in 2013. Since then, China has achieved a dramatic improvement in its air quality. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Laura Wilcox, a professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading in the UK, to understand how China managed to clean up its air pollution. But Wilcox’s recent research uncovered some unintended consequences from this cleaner air for the global climate: the pollution was actually helping to cool the atmosphere and by taking it away, it may have accelerated global warming. Wilcox explains:
What we’re seeing is a removing of cooling that’s revealing warming that’s already there. So the air pollution isn’t the cause of the warming. It’s just letting us see stuff that we’ve already done.
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
The Hong Kong high-rise fire shows how difficult it is to evacuate in an emergency
Hong Kong High-Rise Fire: The deadly Hong Kong fire exposes critical challenges in evacuating tall buildings. Learn why stair descent is slower than expected, how human behavior causes delays, and what modern safety features can save lives.
Evacuations of high-rises don’t happen every day, but occur often enough. And when they do, the consequences are almost always severe. The stakes are highest in the buildings that are full at predictable times: residential towers at night, office towers in the day. We’ve seen this in the biggest modern examples, from the World Trade Center in the United States to Grenfell Tower in the United Kingdom. The patterns repeat: once a fire takes hold, getting thousands of people safely down dozens of storeys becomes a race against time. But what actually makes evacuating a high-rise building so challenging? It isn’t just a matter of “getting people out”. It’s a collision between the physical limits of the building and the realities of human behaviour under stress.
It’s a long way down to safety
The biggest barrier is simply vertical distance. Stairwells are the only reliable escape route in most buildings. Stair descent in real evacuations is far slower than most people expect. Under controlled or drill conditions people move down at around 0.4–0.7 metres per second. But in an actual emergency, especially in high-rise fires, this can drop sharply. During 9/11, documented speeds at which survivors went down stairs were often slower than 0.3 m/s. These slow-downs accumulate dramatically over long vertical distances. Fatigue is a major factor. Prolonged walking significantly reduces the speed of descent. Surveys conducted after incidents confirm that a large majority of high-rise evacuees stop at least once. During the 2010 fire of a high-rise in Shanghai, nearly half of older survivors reported slowing down significantly. Long stairwells, landings, and the geometry of high-rise stairs all contribute to congestion, especially when flows from multiple floors merge into a single shaft. Slower movers include older adults, people with physical or mobility issues and groups evacuating together. These reduce the overall pace of descent compared with the speeds typically assumed for able-bodied individuals. This can create bottlenecks. Slow movers are especially relevant in residential buildings, where diverse occupants mean movement speeds vary widely. Visibility matters too. Experimental studies show that reduced lighting significantly slows down people going down stairs. This suggests that when smoke reduces visibility in real events, movement can slow even further as people hesitate, misjudge steps, or adjust their speed.
Human behaviour can lead to delays
Human behaviour is one of the biggest sources of delay in high-rise evacuations. People rarely act immediately when an alarm sounds. They pause, look for confirmation, check conditions, gather belongings, or coordinate with family members. These early minutes are consistently some of the costliest when evacuating from tall buildings. Studies of the World Trade Center evacuations show the more cues people saw – smoke, shaking, noise – the more they sought extra information before moving. That search for meaning adds delay. People talk to colleagues, look outside windows, phone family, or wait for an announcement. Ambiguous cues slow them even further. In residential towers, families, neighbours and friend-groups naturally try to evacuate together. Groups tend to form wider steps, or group together in shapes that reduce overall flow. But our research shows when a group moves in a “snake” formation – one behind the other – they travel faster, occupy less space, and allow others to pass more easily. These patterns matter in high-rise housing, where varied household types and mixed abilities make moving in groups the norm.
Why stairs aren’t enough
As high-rises grow taller and populations age, the old assumption that “everyone can take the stairs” simply no longer holds. A full building evacuation can take too long, and for many residents (older adults, people with mobility limitations, families evacuating together) long stair descents are sometimes impossible. This is why many countries have turned to refuge floors: fire- and smoke-protected levels built into towers as safe staging points. These can reduce bottlenecks and prevent long queues. They give people somewhere safe to rest, transfer across to a clearer stair, or wait for firefighters. Essentially, they make vertical movement more manageable in buildings where continuous descent isn’t realistic. Alongside them are evacuation elevators. These are lifts engineered to operate during a fire with pressurised shafts, protected lobbies and backup power. The most efficient evacuations use a mix of stairs and elevators, with ratios adjusted to the building height, density and demographics. The lesson is clear: high-rise evacuation cannot rely on one tool. Stairs, refuge floors and protected elevators should all be made part of ensuring vertical living is safer.Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne; Erica Kuligowski, Principal Research Fellow, School of Engineering, RMIT University, and Ruggiero Lovreglio, Professor in Digital Construction and Fire Engineering, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
STM Daily News is a vibrant news blog dedicated to sharing the brighter side of human experiences. Emphasizing positive, uplifting stories, the site focuses on delivering inspiring, informative, and well-researched content. With a commitment to accurate, fair, and responsible journalism, STM Daily News aims to foster a community of readers passionate about positive change and engaged in meaningful conversations. Join the movement and explore stories that celebrate the positive impacts shaping our world.
Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
