Pubdate: Sun, 21 Apr 2013
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2013 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press

TWO INJURED, THOUSANDS FLEE AS GUNSHOTS FIRED AT POT FEST

Panic Ensued Among The 80,000 Gathered To Celebrate
4/20

DENVER - Gunfire erupted at a Denver park Saturday, injuring two
people and sending tens of thousands gathered for an annual pot
celebration fleeing the area, police said.

A crowd of marijuana smokers expected to swell to 80,000 had gathered
at the park to mark the counterculture holiday known as 4/20 on the
first celebration since Colorado and Washington made pot legal for
recreational use. The shooting happened at about 5 p.m. and shortly
after pot smokers shared hugs and joints in a mass 4:20 p.m. smoke-out.

Police spokesman Sonny Jackson confirmed that two people had been shot
and that both were taken to a hospital with injuries that did not
appear to be life-threatening. The gunshots quickly dispelled the
festive atmosphere, with police swarming the scene.

Witnesses said they heard three or more shots and crime tape was
around the pavilion where the celebration was being held.

Aerial footage showed the massive crowd frantically running from the
park.

A sizable police force on motorcycles and horses had been watching the
celebration. But officers didn't arrest people for smoking in public,
which is still illegal.

Ian Bay, who was skateboarding through Civic Center Park when shots
erupted, said he was listening to music on his headphones when he
looked to his right and saw hundreds of people running at him.

"I sort of panicked ... because so many people were coming after me"
he said.

Before the shooting, reggae music filled the air, and so did the smell
of marijuana, as celebrants gathered by mid-morning in the park just
beside the state Capitol.

Authorities generally look the other way at public pot smoking here on
April 20. Police said this week, before the event, that they were
focused on crowd security in light of attacks that killed three at the
finish line of the Boston Marathon.

"We're aware of the events in Boston," said Denver police spokesman
Aaron Kafer, who declined to give specifics about security measures
being taken. "Our message to the public is that, if you see something,
say something."

Nationwide, group smokeouts were planned Saturday from New York to San
Francisco. The origins of the number "420" as a code for pot are
murky, but the drug's users have for decades marked the date 4/20 as a
day to use pot together.

Colorado and Washington are still waiting for a federal response to
the votes and are working on setting up commercial pot sales, which
are still limited to people with certain medical conditions. In the
meantime, pot users are free to share and use the drug in small amounts.

A citizen advocacy group that opposes marijuana legalization, Smart
Colorado, warned in a statement that public 4/20 celebrations "send a
clear message to the rest of the nation and the world about what
Colorado looks like." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D