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Photo by Jim Craven Kids hanging out in Lithia Park knew about "420" but said they hadn't been smoking. They are, from left, Colleen Graves, 16, Nick Hamilton, 15, Dane Murray, 15 and Heather Mooney, 16. `4:20 on 4/20?' It's marijuana time By JULIE SWENSEN Okay, so it's 4:20 p.m. on 4/20. Does that mean anything to you? If you're feeling a bit out of touch, or if you're a parent who's behind the times, probably not. But to those in the know, it's about marijuana, stupid. It seems you could find as many reasons for why 420 is synonymous with pot as there are slang terms for the drug. But Tuesday's Sacramento Bee quoted a man who claimed the 420 term goes back to San Rafael High School, where some students set 4:20 p.m. as their after-school marijuana smoking time in 1971. Teens told the Tribune they'd heard other reasons for how the 420 term was coined -- because it's a police code number for pot, or because of the number of chemicals in the drug. For whatever reason, its notoriety grew; gradually 4:20 on 4/20 became a big day. Not locally, though. Ashland Police Sgt. Rich Walsh, a 17-year-veteran of the department, said "This is the first year I've heard of it." The rumor mill told of a commemorative event at Ashland's Lithia Park. The presence of Ashland police circling the park seemed to confirm it. Though no celebrants were easily identified, kids in the park knew all about it. "It's kind of like tea time in England," said Dane Murray, a 15-year-old Ashland High School student who was not smoking pot, nor were his friends. Teenagers at the park said "everyone knows" about 420, and people carve the number into desks and wear it on T-shirts, backpacks and hats. Ashland High student Jenny Pokorny, 15, who wasn't smoking either, said there's a lot of shirts that ask, "4:19 - Got a minute?" Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA