HITLER'S BIRTHDAY, A DATE OF TERROR

But Some High Schoolers See April 20 As A Day To Smoke Marijuana

One day, two very different stigmas.

Friday marked the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School
shootings. Thursday was the 12th anniversary of the Oklahoma City
bombings and the 14th anniversary of the deadly standoff in Waco,
Texas.

Not a good time in American history, to say the least.

But, according to potheads and stoners nationwide, it's a great time
to smoke weed.

Commonly referred to as "420" (pronounced "four-twenty"), April 20 is
the unofficial get-high holiday for cannabis aficionados - or
students simply looking for an excuse to skip school and smoke up.

Both local police and school officials said Friday they knew nothing
about 420, but that's not the case with high school students.

"When you say '420' ... everyone's first thought, I'm pretty sure,
would be drugs and stuff," said Pleasant Plains High School senior
Alex Womack, who has moved out of two circles of friends at his
school because they started smoking the illegal drug. "Everyone who
does drugs will make an effort to do them on 4/20, or around 4/20."

Much of the student body is familiar with what "420" implies, Womack
said, and students often joke about "420 Day" during school on April
20. He thinks the date is associated more often with marijuana than
with Columbine, at least among those his age.

The connection between "420" and marijuana use isn't well-known. It
apparently stems from a group of California high school students who
would meet at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana after class, according to
concept420.com, a Web site dedicated to the day.

According to a related Web site, 420pot.com, which displays a
countdown clock to April 20, the date is even referred to as "the
stoners' new year."

Officials of the Springfield School District said they were not aware
of the unofficial holiday and don't notice an increase in confiscated
contraband or other drug paraphernalia this time of year, according
to John Graves, director of safety and security for the district.

Their focus on April 20 typically is student safety, in light of the
violent associations with the date, which also is Adolf Hitler's
birthday (Hitler was born in 1889).

"Are we on alert? Well, yes, we are," Graves said, "We're on alert
every day within our schools, and normally, unless we become familiar
with or advised of a specific threat or rumor that may be at one of
the schools, it's kind of business as usual."

Since the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado that left 13 people
dead before the two student gunmen killed themselves, teachers and
school staff are constantly on the lookout for possible threats, he
said. Though this particular week in April has its black eye,
"history has shown us that things can happen at any time at any
place," Graves said.

"But," he added, "the date of Columbine and the constant reminders we
have of Columbine and Waco and Oklahoma City, you know, they would
have to be on people's minds as far as tragedies that have happened
(this time of year) in this country to the innocent."

Staff writer Pete Sherman contributed to this report.