Four Twenty

So I was "surfing" the net and ended up on one of the most entertaining sites that I regularly visit: worldstarhiphop.com... I've gotta admit, I don't really visit the site to check out up and coming rappers, nor do I go to it in hopes of expanding my hiphop palette, which I am already content with. No, the reason I, like hundreds of other net-surfers, visit the site is to check out absolutely hilarious, ridiculous, ludicrous and downright outrageous videos that are posted daily. I'm talking about amateur footage of crackhead fights, clips from local news networks of 9-year old drug dealers, and throwback clips of perverted Canadian game-show hosts (i.e. dude from "Just Like Mom" forcing preteen girls to kiss him). Amidst all the countless footage of rappers, rodents, street brawls and Kat Stacks defences, I was surprised to find this video, from my very own home city:


 

Now, when I first clicked the link, I was looking to see a video of some MORONS from somewhere down south causing ruckus on 4:20, a.k.a International Weed Day, an otherwise (for obvious reasons) relatively peaceful day. As soon as the video began, I quickly recognized the location as Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, and the reporter as one from Toronto's CityTV news. I realized that these gun-toting idiots were right in my backyard, and that these same havoc-wreckers were the ones that had almost ruined my, and hundreds of other stoners' 4 20 festivities. THESE were the dudes that had almost got my friends and I stampeded as we sat in the middle of the Square lighting up to celebrate...

I guess at this point I can give a brief breakdown about 4 20, or at least what I've been able to gather in the past couple of years. In high school I used to hear the older kids talking about it discreetly in the hallways, all members of the elite smokers squad. By the time I had started smoking myself, I looked forward to that one April day in which the world, or at least the world I lived in, would validate pot smokers like myself. The fact that I would see cops surrounding the groups who had met spontaneously across the city to light up, doing nothing, gave me a sense of comfort. Their presence and inaction was equal to them admitting that the act of smoking weed is not as scary and detrimental to society as decision-makers would have us believe. I was also pleased to learn that those counter-culturalist cannibas consumers would gather on this day in different parts of the world, but mainly Canada and the U.S. I don't know why this particular day was chosen, but it's rumoured that its origins are founded in a group of 1970's Californian  teens who would meet up at 4:20 after school for a daily session.

I had never actually participated in any real 4:20 events myself, save for the specially rolled blunts I would consume with my friends to celebrate, or the "I <3 Mary Jane" pin that I've been parading around for some years now. This year though, what with the early end to my exams and number of Facebook invites, I decided to head on downtown to meet up with fellow pot smokers, and rally for the legalization of weed while partaking in some smoking myself. I got down there with a couple of friends and was surprised by the sheer number of people who had decided to show up; as I later learned, this was one of the largest turn-outs in Toronto in all the years it had been organized. There were bongs, empty zig zag packs, and green apparel galore! Suddenly I didn't feel so out of place with my huge hand-made pot leaf necklace. We found a comfortable spot on the ground smack dab in the middle of the "action" and started our own session, amidst the hundreds of joints being passed around us.

Sometime around 4:00 (4:06 as the reporter pointed out), there was some sort of crazy commotion going on near the stage, and I literally began to see dozens of crazed stoners running in our direction, or at least toward Yonge St. I donno if the weed was super good, or if that feeling of paranoia commonly shared by smokers was rampant, but it all felt like slow-motion. I heard someone yelling "police! police!", which I've gotta admit, was a little confusing because we had been surrounded by police the entire time. I somehow managed to pick up the camera, lighters, papers, munchies, and other sprawled out belongings that were enhancing our festivities, and dash through the crowd right before possibly getting stampeded. I instantly felt silly when I reached the street and noticed that a few people hadn't so much as blinked, but were still firmly planted on the ground enjoying their Mary Jane. Apparently, there was some gun play which resulted in all this ruckus. I headed back in, hoping to find my friends and sure enough they were in the same spot. My relief soon subsided though, as we learned that amongst the confusion we had lost the dope!

Anyway, finding this clip on worldstarhiphop.com just reinforces the fact that these guys were losers. Sure, the crowd was able to regather for the 4:20 countdown and I got to witness the hugest simultaneous Dundas Square light-up complete with overhead Mary Jane cloud. The point is though, when you show up to a protest about an illegal substance, the last thing you should be doing is confirming the point that the authorities are already trying to make about the effects of pot. These dudes just played the role of anti-marijuana posterboys! What I found even more hilarious, upon watching the clip itself, was the fact that the entire thing looked like a staged publicity stunt!
58 seconds into the video, we get a glimpse of the "victim". As the dude being interviewed (who happens to be some sort of rapper) explains, "...my producer here, with Certified Cash... we just had to disarm him..." Can someone say shameless plugin?
Anyway, hope you enjoy the video as much as I did. Thankfully, I didn't see myself on camera, but I thiiiink I spotted the top of my head at the part where the crowd makes a run for it and disperses...
HAPPY BELATED 4 20 KIDDOS!
remember,
Don't drink and drive, fly and smoke...

P.S
The moral of the story is, LEAVE THE GUNS AT HOME! Don't be that one moron who shows up to a peaceful protest/celebration and ruins it for everyone by bringing his "beef"... Just crush a bit, roll it up, take a hit and leave the violence at home...