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420 is a favorite number for a variety of reasons, but colloquially the number says pot -- "let's smoke pot", or "someone's smoking pot", or "gee, i really like pot", or "time to smoke pot". It is celebrated and noted by time (4:20 a.m. or p.m.), date (April 20th), or in any other instance (e.g. State Route 420). April 20th at 4:20 is marked by annual events in Mount Tamalpais, CA (an informal gathering); Marin Conty, CA (the 420 Hemp Fest); Ann Arbor, MI (the Hash Bash); and Washington, D.C. (buildup towards the July 4th Smoke-In).

Related FAQ pages:

• Isnt' it police code?
• Why did it come to mean that?
• What are some other explanations of what it means?
• What does 420 have to do with Phish?
• Am I crazy, or is the number 420 everywhere recently?  

See also:

• Much of the content from this section of the FAQ has been "borrowed" (reused without attribution, or permission, but hey...) for an article on Wikipedia, and there somewhat improved upon and extended
• Groups including Inside Out (an effort to curb the hard drug scourge) and The Phellowship (for folks who want support seeing Phish shows sober)
• Verbage including other slang for hemp.
• Plus the Amsterdam weather forecast, the 420 Song ( RealPlayer exerpt) Bobby G from 1966, and Cheech and Chong.

Here's a selection of 4:20 items from the Bible:

• Genesis 4:20: And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle
• Exodus 4:20: And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
• Leviticus 4:20: And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. Called
• Numbers 4:20: But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.
• Deuteronomy 4:20: But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.
• Joshua 4:20: And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
• Judges 4:20: Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No
• Ruth 4:20: And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon
• 1 Samuel 4:20: And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
• 2 Samuel 14:20: To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth
• 1 Kings 4:20: Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
• 2 Kings 4:20: And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died
• 1 Chronicles 4:20: And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzohet
• 2 Chronicles 4:20: Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold (favorite)
• Ezra 4:20: There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them
• Nehemiah 4:20: In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us
• Job 4:20: They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
• Psalm 34:20: He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken
• Psalm 74:20: Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty
• Psalm 94:20: Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
• Psalm 104:20: Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth
• Proverbs 4:20: My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings
• Isaiah 14:20: Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned
• Jeremiah 4:20: Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
• Lamentations 4:20: The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen
• Ezekiel 14:20: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
• Daniel 4:20: The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth
• Zechariah 14:20: In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD's house shall be like the bowls before the altar
• Luke 4:20: And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him
• Acts 4:20: For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard
• Galatians 4:20: I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
• Philippians 4:20: Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen
• 1 John 4:20: If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (another favorite)
• Revelations 14:20: And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Thanks also to Jonathan Fox, Alfred Hall, and John Simons.