In the University of Colorado's continued attempt to end the unsanctioned 4/20 smoke-out, officials are gearing up to close the campus to outside visitors Saturday for the second straight year -- and they hope pro-pot events in Denver will lure revelers to the Mile High City instead.
A massive 4/20 rally in Denver's Civic Center Park on Saturday is expected to draw tens of thousands of people, and the city also is hosting a major marijuana convention -- the High Times Cannabis Cup -- all weekend. Additionally, several 4/20-themed concerned are planned.
"There are certainly planned events down there for people who want to celebrate on this day," CU police spokesman Ryan Huff said Tuesday.
Colorado voters last year passed Amendment 64, which legalizes the small-scale possession and the recreational use of marijuana -- though it's still not legal to smoke pot in public.
"My hopes are if people want to celebrate what they consider to be a victory of Amendment 64 that they do so in Denver where it sounds like there will be a sizable celebration," said Bronson Hilliard, spokesman for CU's Boulder campus.
Last spring, CU officials cracked down on 4/20 -- a gathering that in past years had drawn more than 10,000 people. The campus was shut down to outside visitors and Norlin Quad, the most recent site of the smoke-out, was closed entirely. At 4:20 p.m. that day, about 300 people smoked pot on a smaller campus field near the Duane Physics building.
Hilliard said CU's campus closure has nothing to do with the debate over marijuana.
"This is about a situation growing untenable," he said. "It was becoming what we felt a dangerous situation with that many people clogged in the Norlin Quad."
'Constructive dialogue'
Leading up to Saturday, Chancellor Phil DiStefano emailed a letter to students that said the growth of 4/20 was not sustainable and the event was causing noise, smoke, congestion and trash that disrupted the academic mission of the campus.
"I know that some of you, including student government representatives, disagree with this approach and I have heard your voices clearly on this issue," DiStefano wrote. "It is a tribute to the student government leadership that it has continued constructive dialogue with my administration about ending 4/20 -- a goal shared with us -- despite its concerns."
Listening to concerns from student leaders, CU this year will not apply a fish-smelling fertilizer to the quad.
Tela Moss, a CU freshman, attended Boulder High School and recalls when the 4/20 celebrations ballooned in size. While she's never attended the event, she said it had a spectator appeal that drew many high schoolers.
CU's response to 4/20 seems "extremist," she said.
"It feels over the top, but if they are trying to end 4/20, they're doing a good job," she said.
Gabriel Esquivel said his writing class on Tuesday debated the school's approach to ending 4/20 and read position papers from both sides.
His stance: 4/20 is a peaceful protest and should be left alone. Others in the class, he said, raised concerns about the negative reputation the 4/20 gathering could give the university.
Esquivel said he plans to avoid the main campus Saturday.
Paying for police
Huff said police operations will be similar to last year.
"Police officers will be at all of the major entrances to the campus asking people to show their Buff OneCards or approved visitor credentials," he said. "If they don't have either of those documents, they'll be advised on why the campus is closed and be asked to leave."
Those who violate the closure could face a trespassing ticket, a misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine.
A Boulder judge last year upheld CU's ability to restrict visitors on 4/20.
The campus will re-open at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Last year, CU's administration and student government spent more than $278,000 in their efforts to curtail the marijuana smoke-out.
The administration spent $124,561, and the CU Student Government, which put on a concert featuring Wyclef Jean, spent $154,236. The concert -- designed to draw students away from Norlin Quad -- was poorly attended, attracting only a few hundred students. Student leaders this year decided against staging a similar event.
The university pays for 4/20 enforcement with insurance premium rebates that result from the school's reductions in liability and hazard claims, officials said.
Some costs are expected to be lower this year. For example, signs announcing the closure can be recycled from last year and the school will save $699 by not applying fish fertilizer to the quad.
The majority of expenses come from a labor category -- with the campus paying $75,569 last year for police, security, dispatcher overtime and labor costs for officers from outside agencies.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com. ___
(c)2013 the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.)
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Distributed by MCT Information Services
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