Pubdate: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 THE CHALLENGE OF THE 4/20 FESTIVAL Statements by Denver police in the run-up to the two-day 4/20 festival in Civic Center have been deliberately and understandably vague-no doubt because they know they face a difficult balancing act. With tens of thousands of people likely to descend on downtown, police must be out in force to protect the public and crack down on any lawbreaking that endangers others. And yet they would be foolish to try to suppress every instance in which pot enthusiasts defy state and municipal laws regarding public consumption. Aggressive reaction to every incident would only fuel a dangerous backlash. "Officers will be very visible," a police spokesman told Westword. "We'll enforce the laws but exercise the proper discretion as we do so." It's that exercise of "proper discretion" that is so difficult to calibrate. Meanwhile, let's maintain perspective. The world won't end if thousands of festival-goers light up at 4:20 on April 20, according to the tradition. Denver area residents irritated by the spectacle shouldn't overreact. It happens once a year and just because the city tolerates the behavior at that time doesn't mean it has to give its blessing to open consumption of pot in other venues and at other times. And it shouldn't. City officials displayed commendable backbone when this year's 4/20 organizers attempted to assert a bogus "right" to consume marijuana in public. Officials not only forced 4/20 organizers to back down, they got the event planners even to agree- however insincerely-that they'd advise festival-goers that public pot consumption is illegal. A record-breaking crowd for the 4/20 festival- as organizers are predicting-may not enhance Denver's national image. But if the event comes off peacefully with most participants having a good time, it won't be a public relations disaster, either. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom