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Pubdate: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Andrea Woo THOUSANDS GATHER FOR APRIL POT CELEBRATION Thousands of marijuana enthusiasts flooded the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery for the annual 420 stoner celebration Tuesday despite grey skies and drizzling rain. "It's nice to have so many of us here," said Sasha Guindon, who has attended the pro-pot gathering for several years. "Cops can't really do anything because there are so many of us here. It's like a union." More than 3,000 people, most appearing to be in their early 20s, filled the art gallery lawn by late afternoon. Vendors openly peddled everything from rolled joints, pot brownies and glass pipes to chocolate chip cookies, beaded necklaces and water. The smell of hotdogs -- coming from at least three hotdog vendors on the property - -- wafted through the air, mixing with plumes of marijuana smoke. Police presence was at a minimum, with officers mostly directing traffic. Among the crowd were marijuana activist Marc Emery and his wife, Jodie, enjoying what could potentially be Emery's last April 20 as a free man before being extradited to the U.S. to serve a five-year jail sentence. Emery, leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party and publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, flagged the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in 2005 for selling and shipping marijuana seeds across the border through his online business, Marc Emery Direct Seeds. He was arrested and released on bail, and is now awaiting extradition orders that could come at any day. A Cannabis Culture booth carrying "Free Marc Emery" T-shirts and posters was selling off the merchandise quickly, according to employee Justin Thatcher. About six bus routes had to be diverted as crowds spilled on to streets during rush hour. "We had to reroute the downtown buses starting at about 4:16 p.m.," said TransLink spokesman Drew Snider with a chuckle. "Some of the buses went back to their regular routes by 5:05 p.m." The 420 tradition is believed to have originated with a group of 1970s high school students in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, who gathered at 4:20 p.m. every day to smoke marijuana. April 20 has morphed into a social, political and cultural event. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart