What Is 710 and Why Is It Special to Cannabis Consumers?

420, the massive, global celebration of cannabis culture that takes place on April 20th every year, has come and gone. But you won’t have to wait until the next 4/20 to party with your favorite plant—not that you need a special occasion! Still, there’s something about the holidaze that brings people together. And the good news is there’s still one more major weed holiday on the calendar—and it’s today, July 10th, aka 710. Today, in other words, is Oil Day.

So why is July 10th “Oil Day” in the cannabis community? You’ll hear that it’s because July 10, or 7/10, is OIL upside down. But that’s true only if you turn 710 upside down, which hints at the origins of why 710 equals oil. It’s an origin that has nothing to do with cannabis. Instead, it has to do with automobiles, specifically the oil cap on an engine, which often end up upside down when twisted on. And that’s why instead of twisting up a joint in honor of marijuana buds on 420, cannabis consumers of the dabbing persuasion vaporize concentrates of all kinds—or oils, for short—on 710.

How did a car shop joke, a “710 cap,” become an upstart weed holiday that’s gaining massive traction as cannabis concentrates surge in popularity? Here’s everything you need to know about 710 and why it’s so special to cannabis consumers.

The Real Meaning Behind 710

It was only a matter of time before the cannabis community outgrew the one holiday entirely devoted to celebrating the culture. 420, of course, is now way bigger than just April 20th itself. Today, 420 encompasses anything cannabis-related, operating as a universal codeword and signal for smoking, eating or otherwise consuming cannabis in all of its many forms.

But to call 710 the new 420, as LA Weekly did in 2013, just as the term began to catch fire as a reference to concentrates, isn’t exactly right. And that’s because 710 isn’t the big tent holiday 420 is. It isn’t a celebration of the cannabis community as a whole. July 10th is a celebration of one subset of the cannabis community in particular: those who like to dab and vape concentrates. And if 710 shares anything with 420, it’s only the fact that the term has also moved beyond a reference to the holiday itself. 710 and 710-friendly can refer to anything related to concentrates, but also smoke-free cannabis events or gatherings dedicated to serious consumption.

That isn’t to say that 710 discriminates. Far from it, any kind and form of concentrate consumption is part of the celebration, from sipping on vape cartridges to record-breaking dab hits. If it’s a concentrate, that is to say, an oil, a wax, some shatter, some budder, honey, crumble—hash of any stripe—July 10 is the day for celebrating it.

710 Celebrates the Culture of Cannabis Concentrates

You’ll have a hard time finding someone more devoted to their craft than someone who dabs. There’s a dedication to purity, a lust for potency, that sets the dab aficionado apart from the wider cannabis community. An anthropologist might even consider the advent of the concentrates movement as a kind of reaction to the mainstreaming of cannabis culture, a way to reclaim that counter-cultural edge that cannabis used to have before being blunted by expanding legalization.

Paradoxically, it’s highly likely legalization gave the concentrates segment the spark it needed to grow into a full-fledged movement, spinning off a culture and a community that now has a holiday all its own. Legalization has made cannabis oils and other concentrates safer and more available than ever before. Yet it’s still only the boldest that are venturing into the adventurous world of dabbing. There’s something about butane torches and red-hot quartz nails and bubbling concentrates that’s intimidating to some cannabis consumers. But that’s cool; their holiday is 420. For those who’ve crossed over into concentrates, 7/10 is the holiday for you.

7/10 is the day where 710-friendly folks can gather with like-minded people to share their love of cannabis oils. To heat up their nails and rip their dabs without feeling judged. And to share their knowledge and experiences in this new era of concentrates.

Where Did 710 Come From?

So now you know what 710 is and why it’s so special to cannabis consumers who like concentrates. And the next time you see or hear “710-friendly,” you’ll know exactly what’s up. But where did 710 come from? What are its origins as a cannabis holiday?

Thanks to the confessions of a group of San Francisco Deadheads, we know the story behind 420. But the official account of the origin of 710 is much less definitive.

We do know that somewhere between 2011 and 2013, the term emerged as a reference to oils, dabbing and concentrates. Since 420, which began as a reference to a time of day for getting high, maps onto April 20, it only made sense for the number to refer to July 10 or 7/10. And thus, a holiday was born.

But who was the first person to draw that connection? Who decided that 710 would become the cannabis codeword for concentrates? Astonishingly, no one has rushed to claim credit for creating the growing phenomenon.

But thanks to the sleuthing of one 710 detective, we can be fairly confident that hip hop artist and dab innovator TaskRok propelled it into the popular imagination. In a July 10, 2012 Facebook post, TaskRok wrote “710 (at least the 710 buzz that has grown today) was starting in TinyChat with me, Healthstone and the Beehive guys.

“They suggested we make a new time to take dabs at as they didn’t really resonate with 4:20 anymore. I was the one who suggested 7:10 because it clicked in my head that it spelled oil upside down.”

But the last thing TaskRok wants to do is claim credit. “I don’t want to try to own it though. It belongs to the community now,” TaskRok said.

Here’s How to Celebrate Oil Day

For sure, it was the community that took it and ran with it. Concentrates and extract companies began hyping 710. And companies like High Times brought it to the masses, just as it did with 420.

And just like there are massive 420 celebrations every April, with festivals and Cannabis Cups and other events, there are 710 Cups from Arizona to Canada, 710 festivals from California to Colorado, and other celebrations of the concentrates life, big and small, on July 10.

All you need to get into the action is a dab rig and some wax. Or a vape pen and some THC oil. And wherever you are on July 10, if you’re enjoying some oils, then you’re part of the 710 festivities.