Pubdate: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 2014 Associated Press Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1 Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular) Page: A8 POT HOLIDAY GOES LEGIT IN THE MILE-HIGH CITY DENVER (AP) - Once the province of activists and stoners, the traditional pot holiday of April 20 has gone mainstream in the first state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana. Tens of thousands gathered for a weekend of Colorado cannabis-themed festivals and entertainment, from a marijuana industry expo called the Cannabis Cup at a trade center north of downtown, to 4/20-themed concerts at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater - acts include Slightly Stoopid and Snoop Dogg - to a festival at Civic Center Park, in the shadow of the state capitol. The Civic Center Park event is the most visible sign of the pot holiday's transformation. It started as a defiant gathering of marijuana activists, but this year the event has an official city permit, is organized by an events management company, and featured booths selling funnel cakes and Greek food next to kiosks hawking hemp lollipops and glass pipes. Gavin Beldt, one of the organizers, said in a statement that the event is now a "celebration of legal status for its use in Colorado and our launch of an exciting new experience for those attending." On Saturday, the first day of the two-day festival in Denver, only a few people lingered on the steps of a Roman-style amphitheater where marijuana activists spoke angrily about bans on the drug in other states. Thousands instead lingered on the park's broad lawns, listening to hiphop music blasting from the sound stage and enjoying the fresh, albeit marijuana-scented, air. "It's a lot mellower this year," said Cody Andrews, 29, of Denver. "It's more of a venue now. More vendor-y." Denver police said Sunday that they had issued 28 citations for marijuana-related offenses and arrested one person accused of attempting to distribute the drug. Public consumption of marijuana is still illegal in Colorado, and sales are regulated. "We're going to light up no matter what," said Jairin Genung, 25, of Aurora. "If you can't smoke at the 4/20 rally, it just doesn't make sense." The whole scene was wonderfully surreal for Bud Long, 49, of Kalamazoo, Mich., who recalled taking part in his first 4/20 protest in 1984. "Nationwide, it'll be decriminalized," he predicted, "and we'll be doing this in every state." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom