Hail Mary... Jane?

April 20th to many is a regular day of the week. To others, it stands alone as a day of praise to Mother Nature for her ability to create a palm shaped plant with time-tested medicinal purposes. Yes, we are talking about cannabis, folks - and 4/20 is its Fourth of July.

The exact reason why April 20th became the international day of marijuana is somewhat of a blur, but all roads lead back to California, so the world can thank the Golden State for the unofficial holiday. It is said that its origins date back to the 1970s when students at San Rafael High School in Northern Cali would meet at 4:20 after school to light up behind the bleachers. Subsequently, the California police penal code for violators of the national ban on cannabis usage is the radio call 420. And for those with a green thumb, it is also toted as the best day to plant your crop of the sticky icky… just not here in the Land of Milk and Honey, unless you have a license to grow.

The debate about whether or not to legalize Mary-Jane for recreational use rages on. Next year will mark the 110th anniversary of The Poison Act, which made possession of "extracts, tinctures, or other narcotic preparations of hemp, or loco-weed, their preparations and compounds" illegal. And in the past 110 years, the possession and usage in the Bear State has sparked great debate and constantly changing legislature.

Currently, legal cannabis usage must be accompanied by a license granted by a physician stating a medical need. Companies such as Cal Med 420 and Cal Med 421 in San Diego help patients whom could benefit from the use of medicinal marijuana get evaluated by physicians to obtain the necessary medical-use license needed to purchase from marijuana dispensaries. While California was the first state to allow medicinal marijuana usage in 1996, it has voted down recreational use at every turn. Four states have voted to allow recreational marijuana usage since 2012: Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon.

Oregon was a pioneer in the medical marijuana front and also in decriminalizing the possession of small amounts. However, recreational usage only became legal as of October 2015. Dispensaries in Oregon have since skyrocketed, according to longtime Portland resident Ryan Langston, who says "it seems like there are more dispensaries than Starbucks now." When asked about the change in daily living since the ban on recreational use was lifted, Langston says that "you can smell it more often just walking around the city and definitely more at Timbers games," referring to the Portland Timbers Soccer Club.

In a state with no sales tax, dispensaries selling medical marijuana that register with the Oregon Department of Revenue are allowed to sell to recreational buyers as of January. The state requires that registered dispensaries charge a 25 percent tax on recreational sales while medical marijuana sales remain untaxed. Oregon state officials estimated that the recreational usage tax would bring in about $1 million in its first month, however, the recently released figures by the Oregon Department of Revenue was about $3.48 million, completely dwarfing predictions.

With that much money in the proverbial pot, all eyes are now on California as the 2016 California State Ballot will contain a recreational use bill targeting young voters. California’s market of 39 million residents is double the combined populations of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Colorado, the current recreation-allowing states. The projected tax revenue for California per the terms of the 2016 Recreational Use Bill is estimated from the high hundreds of millions to over $1 billion annually. As for the green, so goes California, so goes the nation; a yes to legalization in California is the tipping point for the rest of the country. California stands to literally blaze the trail in the November elections.

However, money is not the most important green commodity on April 20th, and there are plenty of festivities in the area abound to celebrate the Day of Doja. Celeb Stoner has the official 2016 Best 4/20 happenings from coast to coast. Mecca Natural Medicine in Los Angeles is hosting a Roaring 420’s Speakeasy. But unlike the twenties of the past century, this speakeasy is on the up-and-up, requiring a valid California ID and a medical card. Whether you plant, smoke, or read-up on the current legislature, enjoy your April 20th. It only comes but once a year.