BOULDER, CO —
There’s thirty minutes ’till lift off and I’ve already almost lost sight of the mountains; I’m a 420 virgin (in Boulder, anyways). I had heard much about what was to come but I remained skeptical. It wasn’t until @tomalom2 showed me this video. So, as we meander through nearly 15,000 people, all I can think is, “big Bob Marly blunts.”
In Boulder, April 20 is no ordinary holiday – it’s a holidaze. Each year the event’s attendance increases, and yesterday’s gathering may be one of the largest pro-marijuana protests to date. At the time I’m writing this, it is still unknown but many have estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 enthusiasts showed up to protest on The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Norlin Quad.
When I noticed the hype brewing on Monday, I decided that I would live-tweet the entire event. (Of course, retrospectively, I wish I had created a #hashtag so that I could reference my tweets in this post. Oh, well.) You can search for my tweets in #420 and #Boulder or view my timeline.
The entire day was cloudy and borderline-cold but the weather was completely independent from the incredible number of people that began congregating late morning. Even spurts of rain at the “one-hour” mark did not deter enthusiasm. I could tell that the ensuing hours would be awesome when a plane pulling an advertisement that read, “Happy 4/20 – Color the World – Buy 1 Get 1,” started circling the CU campus several times.
I imagine that one would not prefer to commute through Boulder on April 20. Pedestrians already have the right-of-way throughout Boulder as it is, and April 20 is certainly no exception.
The question of whether or not the event is a protest depends. Boulder is known to have a large, genuine earth-loving demographic. The gathering is not just a bunch of pot-smoking college students that have found ways of easily obtaining medicinal marijuana cards – although, both of these are true. Interestingly, and not particularly surprisingly, adults made up a large percentage of the participants. 4/20 also brought out the diversity in Boulder. (After spending the majority of my life on the East coast, I am not able to describe Boulder, Colorado as diverse.) The annual event has begun to take on a sort of Mecca-vibe. In @duzer‘s 2009 video post on elephantjournal.com, an awesome semi-satirical news report of the 4/20 Boulder event, many of the interviewed participants expressed their tenure in partaking in the protest (one guy claimed 2009 as his 9th year partaking).
With about an hour left to go, the clouds dispersed and I overheard, “the marijuana gods [had] spoken, mon.” At 4:20 pm, the brewing cloud of smoke intensified and then rose upward. I can not stress enough the density of the smoke cloud. At one point it was nearly impossible to see the opposite side of the quad. People hung out of windows on some of the surrounding buildings and captured images that I look forward to seeing in the morning still, unfortunately, have not seen. (Which leads me to ask, where are the aerial photos?) The 4/20 gathering was a community brought together by one shared interest. It demonstrated that a lot of pot-smoking in one concentrated area is not necessarily dangerous. But as soon as the cheers died down, the coughing resonated–and believe me, it res-o-nat-ed–and minutes later, the crowd dissipated.
However, despite the overwhelming good nature, media reactions and responses were generally negative. Most of the news that I’ve read so far has credited the police for their tolerance and help controlling the crowds – this is fine but as far as I can tell, unnecessary. As of now, there has been little national coverage. Stephen Colbert mentioned the “holiday,” but said nothing of the university. Nothing surprised me about the number of police nor their actions. It has been said that there were citations given out. There is no doubt that local businesses, such as Cheba Hut (@ChebaHutBoulder) and Boulder Baked (@BoulderBaked), that capitalize on references to marijuana and the increasing MMJ support in Boulder, profited.
@DosandDontsBlog author, Nathan Year , whom I don’t know personally but assume to be a CU student, posted a copy of CU-Boulder’s Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano’s letter to the CU-Boulder students regarding 4/20 on his blog.* I have italicized important phrases.
While police will be present on the Norlin Quad to support crowd safety, individuals found using marijuana on their way to or from the 420 gathering, or in other locations on campus, face a citation from CUPD.
Police were not to cite those using at the gathering. Alcohol was not permitted.
At the Norlin Quad, no vending of any merchandise or food will be permitted. No buying and selling of marijuana will be allowed.
While I didn’t see any distribution of marijuana, there were edibles being sold and groups of people giving out free grilled cheese sandwiches. From what I could see, the grilled cheese gods were cited for their charity. (I will never understand police intentions.) Word on the street was that one doctor was selling half-price medicinal marijuana prescriptions. That same letter called for “full cooperation” in carrying out the “unsanctioned event” (which was reiterated numerous times throughout) with “no injuries to individuals and no damage in property.” The Chancellor tried to solicit support against the event by asking students how they wished their university be perceived. I don’t think it bothers anyone.
I recorded this video of 4:20 pm with my HD Mino Flip camera. Although, it seems that the quality did not translate when I saved it as Web-ready. (I’ll fix it later. Until then, YouTube has many a video.)
I noticed last night that there was an unusually small amount of people walking about – and that’s a lot for being on The Hill. Maybe this was because of the harmless outcomes of the obvious. In the words of Katt Williams, “Hungry, happy, sleepy – those are the effects.”
Photos by Tom Poth.
Ryan Van Duzer’s video.
Nathan Year’s Social College Do’s and Don’ts Blog.
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