Pubdate: Sat, 20 Apr 2013
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2013 The Associated Press
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press
Page: 7A

CROWDS AT ANNUAL 4-20 POT RITUAL EXPECTED TO BE HIGHER

80,000 Expected for Smoke-Out in Light of Colorado's Legalization

DENVER - As tens of thousands of people gather to celebrate and smoke 
marijuana in Denver, police will be out in force.

But it's not the pot smoking they're concerned about at the yearly 
event, billed as the nation's largest April 20 celebration. Instead, 
police say they're 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.

Organizers say the event - which drew 50,000 people last year - could 
bring a record 80,000 this year, since it's the first celebration 
since Colorado and Washington voted to make pot legal for recreational use.

Even with the legalization, Colorado law bans open and public 
marijuana use. Still, authorities generally look the other way. The 
smoke hangs thick over a park at the base of the state Capitol, and 
live music keeps the crowd entertained well past the moment of 
group-smoking at 4:20 p.m.

Group smoke-outs are also 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.

Denver's celebration this year also features the nation's first 
open-to-all Cannabis Cup, a marijuana competition patterned after one 
held in Amsterdam.

Similar to a beer or wine festival, the event features pot growers 
competing for awards for taste, appearance and potency of their weed. 
Denver's event, sponsored by High Times magazine, has sold more than 
5,000 tickets. Snoop Lion, the new reggae- and marijuana-loving 
persona for the rapper better known as Snoop Dogg, will receive a 
Lifetime Achievement Award from High Times. And the hip-hop group 
Cypress Hill is set to perform a sold-out concert Saturday evening at 
Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Colorado and Washington, where voters decided to defy federal drug 
law and declare pot OK for adults over 21, are still waiting for a 
federal response to the votes. The states 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.

Celebration organizer Miguel Lopez said the holiday is more than an 
excuse to get high - it's also a political statement by people who 
want to see the end of marijuana prohibition.

"You don't have to smoke weed to go to 4-20 rallies. You don't have 
to be gay to go to a Pride festival. You don't have to be Mexican to 
celebrate Cinco de Mayo," Lopez said.

"Not everybody likes everything in America. That's one of the great 
things, that we can express ourselves," Lopez said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom