Pubdate: Tue, 21 Apr 2015 Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2015 Nanaimo Daily News Contact: http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608 Author: Julie Chadwick Page: A3 POT AFICIONADOS GATHER TO CELEBRATE THE CAUSE Monday's Nanaimo event announced on social media only hours before it occurred It's perhaps fitting that the history of yesterday's celebration of marijuana culture has somewhat hazy origins. April 20, or 420 as it is commonly known, has for decades been the appointed day for marijuana activists and enthusiasts alike to gather together. A variety of theories have been floated over the years regarding the choice of that date. One theory claims it goes back to the 1970s when a group of teenagers in Marin County, Calif., would meet up at 4:20 p.m. after school to pass the joint and then go roaming in search of a fabled abandoned pot field in the adjacent hills. Over the years it has been seen as an opportunity to smoke marijuana in the relative safety of a crowd and to raise awareness around the illegality of its use. On Vancouver Island, celebrations have been a bit more low-key over the years, and yesterday a group of about 50 people gathered on the grass outside the Vancouver Island Military Museum to partake smoke pot and enjoy the sun. "I've never been to events here, I've always typically gone to Vancouver," said Richard Payne, a local marijuana activist who runs the Pot Hole Cafe. "This year I thought I'd support it locally, and maybe if we can show how good it is, next year we can talk to the mayor about doing a nice event." With five established medical marijuana dispensaries in town in addition to a multi-million dollar medical cannabis production facility, there is a shifting attitude among some to both the economic and medicinal potential of marijuana. There are mixed feelings on whether 420 events hinder or help the cause, however. "I think 420 meetings like this actually set the medical marijuana movement back," said Patrick Bush, assistant manager at The Smoke Zone. "Name one other prescription drug that people get together in large groups to take at the same time." It serves to emphasize the recreational aspect of marijuana over its medicinal use, he said. Ben Hinton, manager at Trees Dispensary on Bowen Road, disagrees somewhat. "There's two sides to it, they've proven that down in Colorado and Washington," said Hinton. "It sets back the medical aspect of it, but it promotes the general use and the awareness of it, which I think is a good thing." Hinton feels that awareness is key because though attitudes are changing, there are still a lot of misconceptions around about marijuana. This year, crowds swelled to an estimated 25,000 outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in a city that is becoming known as the "Amsterdam" of North America. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt