Pubdate: Mon, 21 Apr 2014
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2014 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Page: A3

THOUSANDS CELEBRATE ANNUAL POT HOLIDAY

(AP) - Tens of thousands of revelers raised joints, pipes and
vaporizer devices to the sky Sunday at a central Denver park in a
defiant toast to the April 20 pot holiday, a once-underground
celebration that stepped into the mainstream in the first state to
legalize recreational marijuana.

The 4:20 p.m. smoke-out in the shadow of the Colorado capitol was the
capstone of an Easter weekend dedicated to cannabis in states
nationwide. Although it is still against the law to smoke marijuana
publicly in Colorado, police reported only 63 citations or arrests on
Sunday, 47 for marijuana consumption.

At 4:20 p.m. local time, an enormous plume of marijuana smoke wafted
into the sky above downtown Denver. The Civic Center Park event was
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.

In Trenton, N. J., speakers urged a crowd of about 150 gathered at the
statehouse to push state and federal lawmakers to legalize or
decriminalize marijuana and called on Gov. Chris Christie (R) to do
what he can to help medical marijuana patients.

In San Francisco, revelers gathered at Golden Gate Park's Hippie Hill,
which has become the go-to spot for the unsanctioned festival every
year. City officials said they would crack down on illegal parking,
camping, drug sales, underage drinking and open alcohol containers.

In Washington, thousands celebrated in the only other state to
legalize marijuana.
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