Univ. of Colorado NORML Chapter to Host Largest 4/20 Marijuana Event

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 06:02:06 PM EST
Tags: marijuana reform (all tags)

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Via NORML:

I’d like to highlight the Colorado University chapter of NORML for not only holding the largest organized annual ‘4/20′ event in the world–but for recognizing this year, a year marked so far by an ever-growing voter sentiment about the need to legalize cannabis–that ‘4/20′ provides cannabis law reform advocates a prime annual opportunity to do far more than just protest in the park by convening a day-long, substantive conference in advance of ‘celebrating cannabis’ the next day by exploring logical and effective alternatives to cannabis prohibition.

[More...]

NORML encourages college chapters of NORML and SSDP to follow CU NORML’s lead by organizing ‘marijuana forums’ on their campuses next week, as college students are disproportionately arrested at higher rates than most other subgroups of Americans for cannabis possession charges and can be denied access to federal loans for college if convicted of a single cannabis possession offense.

The program is here. NORML continues:

Despite President Obama’s unfortunate inability to take Americans’ current calls for cannabis law reforms seriously, there is nothing funny about cannabis prohibition in America. Next weekend at The University of Colorado at Boulder, students, activists, professors, lawyers and doctors, as well as proponents of cannabis prohibition will engage in serious-minded discussion and symposiums about how to move forward into the near future by crafting functional cannabis policies at the state and federal level.

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Univ. of Colorado NORML Chapter to Host Largest 4/20 Marijuana Event | 5 comments (5 topical)

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4/20 (none / 0) (#1)
by CST on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 06:09:20 PM EST

Is a MA state holiday this year. Gotta love things like "patriot's day" and "bunker hill day" and "evacuation day". The british give us so many reasons to celebrate "4/20", "nice weekend in June" and "St. Patrick's Day".

Hooray for the revolution.

I see the Denver... (none / 0) (#2)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 07:15:59 PM EST

...organizers have taken to inserts in the Westword to promote our 420 event. First time I think I've ever seen that.

Plus a fund raising concert beforehand.

Kind of goes against the lazy stoner stereotype.

ok, i'll bite, (none / 0) (#3)
by cpinva on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 10:16:37 PM EST

what does the "4/20" refer to?

: Its become slang.... (none / 0) (#5)
by kdog on Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 09:47:40 AM EST

for reefer or smoking reefer....supposedly started back in 1971 by a bunch of California high-school kids, who met to smoke at 4:20 everyday after detention let out.

[ Parent ]

Here's a good definition (none / 0) (#4)
by Dark Avenger on Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 11:41:30 PM EST

Wikipedia link.

One explanation of the origin of the term stems from a story about a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, United States in 1971. The teens would meet after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana at the Louis Pasteur statue. The exact time was chosen because that was the time that afternoon detention was dismissed. By extension April 20 ("4/20" in U.S. date notation) has evolved into a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.[1] In some locations this celebration coincides with Earth Week.[2][3][4] In Dunedin, New Zealand, students at the University of Otago and other cannabis law reform activists meet under a walnut tree on the Otago University Union Lawn on Wednesdays and Fridays at 4:20pm to openly smoke cannabis in public in what they consider an act of protest.[5][6][7] In 2008 members of the Dunedin group were arrested and issued trespass notices in relation to openly smoking cannabis on the Otago University Union Lawn[8], but the meetings continue to this day.