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Potheads ready to roll on day they call 4:20
Day marks occasion of celebration and protest among marijuana users in North America

By GLORIA GALLOWAY | The Globe and Mail | Tuesday, April 20, 2004


It may seem like just another Tuesday, but today -- called 4:20 by those in the know -- is a high holy day for North America's dedicated pot smokers.

To some, April 20 is a good day to light up a joint and celebrate marijuana with friends. To others, its a time to protest against the fact that, despite moves toward decriminalization, the drug is still illegal in both Canada and the United States.

"It's Pothead New Year's. That's what I like to call it, anyway," said Abi Roach of Roach-O-Rama, a store in Toronto's Kensington Market area that caters to marijuana users.

It's also a time for political activism. The spirit of the annual commemoration is "everybody unite and show your true colours, come out of your grow closets and let everybody know that you smoke and not to be embarrassed of it," said Ms. Roach, a pseudonym she has adopted to protect herself and her family from harassment.

She expects an "all-day celebration" at her store.

Rallies and parties will take place across Canada today, particularly in the bigger cities where the marijuana culture maintains a more visible presence. Young people will skip class to smoke up with their friends. Movie cinemas will hold special 4:20 showings. And a marijuana boat cruise will set sail in Vancouver.

But the most dramatic event may be the "smoke-out" on Highway 420 in Niagara Falls, Ont., that is being planned by a group called Cannabis in Canada. Supporters of legalization will gather beside the highway where it meets the Rainbow Bridge leading into the United States and light their joints.

Marco Renda, an advocate for medicinal marijuana, is on the list of speakers.

"We're going to be out there doing a peaceful protest, basically making the public aware of marijuana being for medical and other uses," Mr. Renda said.

The federal government is considering a bill that would decriminalize the possession of 15 grams or less -- about 15 to 20 joints - making the offence punishable by a fine of $150 for an adult or $100 for a youth.

But, unlike last summer when the laws were in limbo and the drug was smoked freely on the streets, police are aggressively laying marijuana charges. So, those who take part in public 4:20 events will be risking a brush with the law.

Robin Ellins of the Friendly Stranger Cannabis Culture Shop in Toronto said 4:20 celebrations have existed for about six years in Canada and the United States.

"This has been flying under the radar of parents for a long time," he said. "I find that kind of interesting because it's huge within the culture, everybody knows about it."

The origins of the 4:20 tradition are part mystery and part urban myth. Some say it is the number of a police call used in California during the 1960s.

But "the most believable [explanation] that I've heard is that three guys that went to university in California would meet up at 4:20 for a joint between classes and that started a trend," Ms. Roach said.

Regular users say 4:20 p.m. -- or a.m. -- is traditionally the perfect time of day for lighting up. Doing it on April 20 compounds the experience.

"All of the different cannabis-related businesses usually do something on this day," Mr. Ellins said. "It's definitely a North American phenomenon. It's gone so far that there's rolling papers [with 4:20 on them] and it's embroidered on T-shirts."

Scott Hearty, the manager of Blunt Brothers, a marijuana café in Vancouver, said he expects an extraordinary number of customers today.

April 20 is special to marijuana users, Mr. Hearty said. "Everyone has their own strains to sample and they get together and generally have a smoke-out." As to whether it's a social or a political event, he said it's both.

Some people "look forward to spending the day smoking spliffs and enjoying life. Truly, it should be more political," Mr. Hearty said.

But "there's different ways to acknowledge the day. It doesn't matter if you are sitting at home, as long as you're thinking, frame-of-mind-wise, about what's going on and how you can help."



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Marijuana proponents to protest
The Sun Central | Tue, Apr. 20, 2004 | By TOM WILEMON

D'IBERVILLE - The "Cannabis Awareness 420 Get-Together" planned for today will become a protest because the city revoked the permit for the event, according to Jim Smith of Stop the Madness.

The cannabis, or marijuana, advocacy organization had secured the D'Iberville Farmer's Market for the event, but security issues were never resolved. Smith blamed Capt. Lou Bissonnette of the Harrison County Sheriff's Department for the glitch but admitted he twice failed to show up for scheduled meetings with the captain to discuss security.

"I was under the impression that just the minor details about security was all that was left to do, like how much manpower we would need," Smith said.

Manpower is not a minor detail, according to Bissonnette and D'Iberville Mayor Rusty Quave.

"He has failed to meet with me and other city officials on two occasions, just not showed up," Bissonnette said. "We had been waiting on him to plan the event, but we never heard another word from him until he walked in on Friday and expected me to bring the manpower out of the sky."

Smith in a news release issued Monday said Bissonnette had the permit jerked. Bissonnette said city officials made that decision after he told them security had not been planned. Quave said Smith "dropped the ball" on planning for an event that required extra security. The city contracts its police protection through the sheriff's department.

The group, which had circulated fliers about the event, will still set up information tables and speak publicly from 3 to 9 p.m. today, Smith said.

"The only thing that changes is we were going to do some music," he said. "Now, we will not have music. I'm prepared to exercise my First Amendment right to protest government regulation."


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Despite day, pot smokers can still get burned, says UCPD

DAILY BRUIN | 4.20.2004
By Ari Bloomekatz
DAILY BRUIN REPORTER
abloomekatz@media.ucla.edu

April 20, known better as 4/20, the unofficial time or day for smoking marijuana, is a holiday for pot smokers.

But any idea that university police will also go on holiday and give a high five and a big grin to those openly smoking on campus, should go up in smoke.

In past years, some students have used the day to hang out on UCLA's green lawns with a little grass of their own, and this year is expected to be no different.

Jamie Strowbridge, a third-year music student, said he's going to drop by Meyerhoff Park at the end of his day.

"I'm gonna go check it out, and I might be equipped," Strowbridge said, noting that he heard smoking at Meyerhoff Park on 4/20 was somewhat of a UCLA tradition.

"I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to be a participant," he added.

Police don't want students to get the notion that the day of 4/20 provides them with protection; students still face consequences.

Police say they have been working with the Center for Student Programming in preparation for the day.

"We don't want students to break the law, so we are taking steps to educate them on the consequences," said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for UCPD.

The Center for Student Programming will be handing out flyers about the consequences students may encounter by smoking pot, Greenstein said.

Members from the center can also take names of students caught smoking, and that those students may be subject to student judicial processes, she added.

Police have the authority to issue citations to students who are caught smoking, Greenstein said.

While Strowbridge doesn't know whether he will risk smoking on campus tomorrow, he said he'll definitely celebrate with friends in the privacy of his home.

He said his plans for the day include smoking at both midnights – to bring in and close out the holiday.

Contrary to popular belief, 420 is not a police code for the possession of marijuana. In fact, 420 is a penal code regarding the obstruction or prevention of entry over public lands.

The term 4/20 was reputedly started by a group of high school students in Marin County who called themselves "The Waldos in 1972." The term 4/20 referred to the time of day that they were going to smoke, and it became a code that they and others began using synonymous with smoking pot.

The health and safety code for marijuana is 11357b.

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Torture Good, Healthcare Bad, Marijuana Evil.

There's no money for your issue so long as we're squandering $50 billion a year on the DrugWar. Ben Masel