POT ACTIVISTS GATHER FOR ANNUAL 420 EVENT

Authorities Show Restraint at CU

BOULDER -- Crafty school officials at the University of Colorado turned on
the sprinklers Wednesday afternoon at Farrand Field to try to curb "420,"
an annual event that celebrates and advocates the legalization of marijuana
use.

Craftier pot enthusiasts clogged the irrigation system with wadded T-shirts
or snapped off the sprinkler heads completely and carried on as planned.

A dense haze of smoke rose from the cheering crowd of at least 1,000
students and activists at 4:20 p.m. as about a dozen CU police officers,
and hundreds of students, looked on.

The crowd quickly got soaked, thanks to errant sprinkler streams and light
rain, but stayed on the field.

"If it wasn't raining, this place would be even more packed," Mason Tvert,
director of the marijuana advocacy group Safer Alternative for Enjoyable
Recreation, said happily as he surveyed the crowd.

At about 3:30 p.m., Tvert's group held a rally near the Coors Events Center
supporting referendums to make punishments for marijuana offenses no more
serious than sanctions for alcohol-related offenses at CU and Colorado
State University. Leaders at the two schools recently declined to adopt
such a policy, despite support from a majority of voters in school elections.

Tvert said he did not condone any illegal activity, including marijuana use
or sprinkler vandalism, but did question why police felt Wednesday's event
was an important problem.

"They obviously care more about one day of student marijuana use than they
do about 365 days of alcohol abuse," Tvert said.

While the term "420" has a number of urban myths attached to it --
including that it's police radio code for smoking pot -- it was coined in
1971 by a group of San Rafael (Calif.) High School students who met at 4:20
p.m. to get high. Now it is shorthand for marijuana and its culture, and
420 events (4:20 on 4/20) are held around the world.

In Boulder, a crowd traditionally gathers at Farrand Field at 4:20 p.m.
April 20 each year.

School officials vowed to crack down on this year's event in an effort to
improve CU's reputation, which suffered several blows recently in the form
of football recruiting scandals, controversy surrounding professor Ward
Churchill, riots on University Hill and the alcohol-related death of a
fraternity pledge.

No arrests were made during Wednesday's event, CU Police Lt. Tim McGraw
said, and only two students were referred to the school's judicial affairs
department.

But those two busts may be only "a start," he said. Officers videotaped the
gathering and may ticket or arrest anyone they identify, he said.

Despite officials' vows to tighten enforcement, officers had to be
realistic about policing the party, McGraw said.

"We have no illusions about stopping this in one year," he said. "We would
have to kill a fly with a sledgehammer to do that."

Police were surprised at how relatively responsible the crowd was, McGraw said.

"Obviously, we don't condone it from a police standpoint. But if you look
at the people out there, they're picking up trash," he said.

A brief hailstorm effectively ended the event at about 4:45 p.m.

The local chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws
held a second rally at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday at Canyon Boulevard and Broadway
in Boulder.

The event, attended by about 200 people, was intended to publicize NORML's
push to reduce to $5 the fine for possessing an ounce or less of pot, group
member Paul Tiger said.