cannabisnews.com: Smokin' The Reefer
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Smokin' The Reefer
Posted by CN Staff on April 21, 2009 at 06:33:20 PT
By Jim Sojourner
Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian
Colorado -- The warm Boulder air was thicker with the "atom bomb" of marijuana smoke than anticipation as cries of stoned joy mingled with the bluish haze rising among the still-skeletal tree limbs as 4:20 p.m. approached.Disregarding an e-mail from the CU-Boulder administration pleading with students to forgo this year's 4/20 celebration, roughly 10,000 people gathered on the green lawn of CU-Boulder's Norlin Quad Monday to celebrate what stoners across the nation recognize as something of a national marijuana smoking holiday.
Some on the field claimed to have gathered to push for marijuana legalization, some to flaunt their illegal recreation choices under the nose of the law, some to enjoy the celebration, some to sell their pot-printed paraphernalia and some to just revel in a THC-induced delirium."Why are we here?" Laura Kriho, a proponent of marijuana legalization yelled to the crowd after taking a mock hit on a giant stuffed joint."We're here cause we like to smoke pot!" she yelled in answer to her own question. "It's an annual holiday, and there's not even that many long-haired hippie people."Sure enough, men and women; students and elderly; people of all creeds, cultures and backgrounds; and even some long-haired hippie people turned out to do just that: smoke some pot.The city of Boulder has become something of a stoner Mecca in the last decade, its massive 4/20 celebrations drawing crowds from across the state and even the nation.One CU-Boulder student who identified herself as Silvia Plath, said she was hesitant to tie drug-use to Boulder culture, but said she thinks the city definitely benefits from all the merchandise sales.However, Mike, another student who declined to give his last name, said marijuana smoking is an integral part of Boulder's culture and reputation."Boulder is one of the main towns," Mike said about 4/20 celebrations while puffing a marijuana cigar. "People come to Boulder for the weed city."Gray-haired Steve Bell and his fellow homeless companions Carol Seacrest and Joey David Lee hitchhiked from Louisiana to attend Bell's 30th high school reunion in Loveland, but decided to stop by Boulder on the way for their first 4/20 celebration.Bell said the truck driver they hitched a ride with asked whether they wanted to get dropped off in Loveland or travel through to Boulder."Carol said 'I need some culture,'" Bell said. "I said, 'Boulder.'""This is an American festival," Lee said.Jay Reed, a student from Colorado Springs, also made the trek to Boulder to smoke some weed, chill out and satisfy his munchies with some snacks."We're here to just to f**kin' hang out and support this and support this cause," the bandana-sporting Reed said motioning to the crowd after sucking smoke from a blue glass pipe.While Reed's "cause" was not readily apparent, others preached their pro-marijuana messages from the low stone walls that line the quad, waving large green signs with boldly printed legalization slogans.Kriho said marijuana has a variety of positive uses -- medical, recreational and industrial -- and said the plant has been used by human civilizations without major consequences for thousands of years."It's ingrained in international culture. We could all benefit from [its legalization]," she said.Bell agreed, saying CU's annual 4/20 celebration draws large, peaceful crowds and boasts no dangers. That, he said, shows that marijuana's illegal status is unnecessary.Plath, who emphasized that she did not inhale the marijuana smoke, also said the celebration was about pushing for legalization.However, not everyone in attendance smoked marijuana or condoned its use.Waving a red-lettered sign that read "Getting high makes you stupid" on the edge of the throng, CU-Boulder students Troy Johnson and Garrett Graff said the whole celebration was ridiculous and served only to "create an atom bomb of smoke above campus."Johnson said numerous people had yelled at them for protesting the smoke-out, and Graff said the event was much less about standing up for marijuana legalization than many partakers tried to pretend."I think 90 percent of the people here just want to smoke and get high on a school day," Graff said.Despite the blatant disregard for controlled substance laws, law enforcement officers said their primary concern was maintaining public safety. No tickets were issued during the gathering."No structures, no cars, nothing weird," said one CU police officer who requested anonymity because the department didn't authorize officers to talk to the media. "As you can see, the number's overwhelming."The heavy police presence did little to deter most of the gathering as they lit up any kind of joint, blunt, pipe or bong they could find and pass around. Some, including Mike, even seemed to take special joy from doing the drug in front of police officers."I love it. I think it's awesome," he said. "The cops can't do anything about it."Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian, The (CO Edu)Author: Jim SojournerPublished: April 21, 2009Copyright: 2009 Rocky Mountain CollegianContact: news collegian.comWebsite: http://www.collegian.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/smm0wkNHCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on April 22, 2009 at 11:44:44 PT
Yikes!
That first video... at You Tube. Sickening. I'm so dizzy and sea sick... I can't bear to try and watch it all.Now I know what the remark in comments about "Seizures" meant.I hope whoever recorded it isn't planning on a filming career of any sort. Unless they want to make films to make people ill.Mercy!
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 22, 2009 at 10:39:22 PT
Related Article from The Santa Cruz Sentinel
Heat Twice Bakes Attendees of Annual 4/20 Pot Fest at UC Santa CruzApril 21, 2009URL: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_12188162
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 22, 2009 at 10:31:23 PT
Hope
Here's a video from Santa Cruz.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2tx0TJWxU4
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on April 22, 2009 at 10:11:32 PT
4/20 gatherings.
Has anyone heard anything about Santa Cruz?Did I miss it somewhere?
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Comment #7 posted by RonSousa on April 22, 2009 at 09:21:16 PT:
420 in Boulder - great pics!
Best photos I've seen of the event and participants. Commentary's kinda gnarly but there are some good points too.
photo essay on 420 Boulder 2009
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 21, 2009 at 09:41:26 PT
Medical Marijuana Ads Premiere in Illinois
Illinois Patients Plead to the General Assembly to Enact a Medical Marijuana Law.Hundreds of Illinois' seriously ill are counting on the General Assembly to enact the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, sponsored by Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) and Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie).Please take a few minutes to watch the following advertisements that patients Lisa Lang Van Camp of Lindenhurst and Lucie Macfarlane of Joliet appear in. These ads premiered on April 21 and are now running across Illinois in the hope that legislators and citizens will hear Lisa and Lucie's message and work to provide them with the protection they need.URL: http://www.mpp.org/states/illinois/medical-marijuana-ads.html
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Comment #5 posted by josephlacerenza on April 21, 2009 at 09:04:24 PT
Stats
Does anyone have rough numbers of individuals who attended 420 events all over the country? I bet the lowest estimates will crush the so called grass roots movement of the teabaggers!!!!FREE CANNABIS FOR ALL
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on April 21, 2009 at 09:01:25 PT
Judges....
that "Judge" these smoke outs aren't done in protest, as civil disobedience, in protest of unjust laws, are very poor judges of anything.
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Comment #3 posted by GeoChemist on April 21, 2009 at 08:03:07 PT
Off topic
I just called the White House comment line and actually spoke to a human who took my comments. The comments I left are as follows: I am disturbed the CIA officials that carried the torture of detainees were given a free pass, but people are caged for using a plant; I am even more disturbed the lawyers that authorized the said torture were also given a free pass, but people are caged for using a plant. The message being sent is it's ok to torture another human being but use cannabis and you will be punished. I also inquired about the 236 laws pseudo-president Bush and Cheney broke during the run-up to and during the war with Iraq. I also mentioned a few of my collegues at the USGS who are Iraqi-Americans that were brought into the White House two years prior to the invasion. These professionals were not asked about weapons, terrorism, or Sadaam, they were asked what the consequences (environmental) were if we were to go in and take the oil. And yet we cage people for using a plant. Unbelievable. 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 21, 2009 at 07:27:29 PT
Related Article From The Denver Post
U.S. Should Put an End To War on Drugs, Legalize PotApril 21, 2009URL: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_12185730
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on April 21, 2009 at 07:14:46 PT
What if they gave a war......
...and nobody stopped smoking?
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