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. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt