Pubdate: Fri, 18 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: Meredith C. Carroll

AT 4/20 RALLY, BLOWING SMOKE IN THE FACE OF THE LAW

Prohibition in the United States came to an end on Dec. 5, 1933, when 
the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was repealed. In the time 
before and since, there's been no single officially designated day 
that's meant to encourage drinking publicly (unless you count St. 
Patrick's Day, the Coachella music festival or most every day in New Orleans).

Were there one, you might imagine an outcry from sober people from 
coast to coast as their drunk counterparts stumble around the streets 
en masse, no doubt creating a public nuisance and quite probably a 
safety hazard. Of course, not nearly everyone drinks responsibly or 
legally at all times-publicly or privately-but at least there are no 
pro-drinking organizations encouraging large groups to do it outdoors 
for the most part just to flagrantly toast the laws putting them in 
violation of openly imbibing.

It's a head-scratcher as to why the 4/20 festival in Denver this 
weekend is still happening. Billed as the largest such occurrence of 
its kind, the two-day event in Civic Center is expected to attract 
tens of thousands of marijuana enthusiasts. The rally's website says 
this year's event is the most important in its history, as "Colorado 
has taken aggressive steps to ensure the marijuana industry realizes 
its potential in a credible, responsible manner."

How credible and responsible it is to hold a gathering where many, if 
not most, will be engaging in illegal activity, though? Sure, the 
organizers will broadcast messages about the illegality of smoking 
pot outside in the middle of the city, but only because they had to 
if they wanted to get their permit approved. No one is really 
expecting the memos will be heeded, including law enforcement officials.

Last year's 4/20 event ended in a shooting that injured three-less 
than an hour after the famous group toke at 4:20 p.m. You can argue 
that smoking pot quells violence, not incites it, although the 
incident was enough for the plug to be pulled on 2013's two-day event 
before the conclusion of Day 1.

That was last year. Colorado's Amendment 64 passed in 2012 and as of 
this past Jan. 1, it's legal for those 21 and older to use marijuana 
recreationally. Not legal still is smoking it in public spaces. While 
it's understandable that cannabis supporters would have gathered to 
protest the criminalization of marijuana in years past, assembling 
for something that's now legal by doing something illegal seems 
counterintuitive.

According an article on The Denver Post's Cannabist website, even 
some pro-pot advocates think this year's 4/20 festivities aren't 
beneficial to the brand, saying that "the Marijuana Industry Group 
[is] keenly aware that rampant public pot-smoking could tarnish 
perceptions." Marijuana opponents will likely be watching this 
weekend's events closely to gather proof of why other states weighing 
their legalize-marijuana options should not follow suit. Serving to 
bolster their case will be how any related arrests and other 
associated criminal behavior will reflect poorly on Colorado at a 
time when the state inevitably is spotlighted over the course of a 
few media cycles.

The 4/20 rally organizers said this year's gathering will also in 
part protest how alcohol is more widely permissible on public 
property than marijuana. And while that may very well be unfair, at 
this moment, the fact remains that it's true. Do advocates really 
believe that holding an event that literally blows smoke in the face 
of the law will really get them closer to their goal?

As the rest of the country continues to look to Colorado for a 
blueprint on the decriminalization of marijuana, it would have seemed 
to be a bit wiser had this year's big 4/20 celebration happened on a 
smaller, more private scale. What better way to fire back at those 
who question the quality of pot smokers' brain cells than by actually 
using them in a prudent manner?
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom