Pubdate: Tue, 15 Apr 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Jon Murray
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

DENVER EVENT WILL BE PARTY AND PROTEST

Sales of recreational marijuana may be legal, but organizers of next 
weekend's 4/20 festival in Denver-billed as the largest in the world- 
have a fine line to walk.

They nearly got the two-day event canceled after the organizers' 
attorney asked the city to endorse public pot-smoking by attendees.

Now, with a permit for Civic Center in hand as of Thursday, Miguel 
Lopez and other organizers will need to broadcast the illegality of 
public marijuana consumption - as a concession to city officials- 
while also protesting Colorado's remaining strictures on cannabis 
use. They also plan to protest that alcohol is treated differently 
from pot on public property.

In other words, when tens of thousands of the pot-passionate fill the 
park Saturday and Sunday - the same day as Easter - there will be 
plenty of winks and nods. And pot smoke in the air. The long-standing 
rally-turned-festival was supercharged by Colorado's Amendment 64, 
passed by voters in 2012. The first legal recreational pot sales 
anywhere, to those 21 and older, began Jan. 1.

Despite a changing climate, though, Lopez says organizers' goals 
remain the same: to protest federal marijuana prohibition and 
remaining local restrictions and to support a grab-bag of causes 
including gay rights.

As in previous years, police say they will keep watch with an eye on 
safety rather than cracking down on public pot use.

This year could mark a turning point for the rally.

Organizers have added to the event's offerings, upped security and 
expanded the footprint, with planned closures of Bannock and 14th 
streets as 4/20 grows beyond Civic Center park.

Besides the usual lineup of political speeches, bands and a hemp 
fashion show, organizers secured bigname musical headliners Wyclef 
Jean and rapper B.o.B. VIPs will mingle during a reception in the 
McNichols Building.

And a fence will surround the site, limiting access to four entrances 
with bag checks and pat-downs.

The measure comes partly in response to trouble last year, when a 
still-unsolved shooting on April 20 injured three attendees and cut 
short what was supposed to be the rally's first two-day outing. The 
shooting happened not long after the crowd's collective puff in 
celebration of marijuana at the symbolically important time of 4:20 p.m.

Organizers also plan to have medics and an ambulance on hand this year.

Lopez predicts 80,000 people a day, up by a third from his estimate 
of last year's attendance, though such counts are difficult at a free event.

"Our event costs more than J. Lo's wedding," he said, citing more 
than $300,000 in costs for the event management company, which 
profits from vendors. "And we have more guests."

They'll include plenty of stoners, of course, but Lopez is hoping to 
attract more out-of-towners and curious sorts on a weekend chock-full 
of marijuana-focused events.

Among them will be Robert Hill, 27, a computer systems administrator 
who said he moved from South Carolina to Denver last year with his 
girlfriend to take advantage of legal marijuana.

The rally has value "not only as a celebration of what Colorado has 
done," Hill said, "but in celebration of liberating my life from the 
threat of criminal prosecution and the life-ruining consequences of 
such a prosecution."

Tyler D'Spain, 22, has a different reason for coming: networking, 
both at the festival and at the High Times Cannabis Cup expo at the 
Denver Mart. He co-owns a Durango potency testing lab serving Western 
Slope medical dispensaries, with plans to expand the clientele.

Still, 4/20 suffers from a bad rap among many who would agree with 
Denver resident Tedd Langowski's assessment of it as "nothing more 
than to highlight the bad idea that illegal drugs are good for you."

Even some pro-pot advocates and dispensaries keep their distance, 
with the Marijuana Industry Group keenly aware that rampant public 
pot-smoking could tarnish perceptions. The group plans an education 
push this week to highlight Colorado's marijuana restrictions ahead 
of 4/20, particularly for visitors.

Diane Carlson, a co-founder of Smart Colorado, a group concerned 
about the effects of legalization on youth, says she bristles at the 
negative message sent by last year's "scene of chaos."

"The rest of the world will be watching to see whether they want to 
emulate marijuana legalization like we have in Denver," Carlson said. 
"More importantly, kids have been watching."

Lopez, who sees himself as an aggressive civil rights activist- a 
"Chicano version of a Black Panther," as he puts it- also helps 
organize parts of the Annual Smoke-In each Fourth of July in Washington, D.C.

He says he takes his role seriously, but wants attendees to enjoy themselves.

"It really is our responsibility and intention to make sure people do 
know the law and don't get in trouble," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom