NATIONAL POT DAY ATTRACTS THOUSANDS

Estimated Crowd Of 5,000 Celebrates '420' In Front Of Vancouver Art Gallery

Thousands of mostly young pot smokers gathered in front of the
Vancouver Art Gallery on Monday, but it was the cops who were calling
for peace.

"We're trying to stay upwind," joked Vancouver police Sgt. Jim
Patenaude, who was monitoring the situation with other officers on
bicycles as smoke clouds arose from the crowd.

Patenaude said police were concerned mainly about crowd control and
public safety. "We're just here to keep the peace," he said. "It
would be totally inappropriate to jump in and arrest."

The occasion was "420," as National Pot Smoking Day has become known.

By mid-day, Patenaude estimated, about 5,000 people, mostly in the
18-to-20 age range, had gathered. The event peaked at 4:20 p.m.

Police had Howe Street blocked off between Robson and Georgia late in
the afternoon, and some buses were rerouted.

The origins of "420" are hazy, but is believed to be code for smoking
pot adopted by a group of students at a California high school who
would meet at 4:20 each day, after detentions finished. Today, it is
celebrated on April 20: 4/20.

"My alarm on my phone goes off at 4:20 every day," said Jermaine Coe,
16, a Langley secondary school student who attended the event with friends.

Julia Trudell, 18, who lives near Nanaimo, said she and a friend
caught the 8:30 a.m. ferry to attend the 420 celebration.

"It's unbelievable," she said, smoking pot from a purple bong. "It
almost feels fake, it's so unreal."