Pubdate: Sat, 21 Apr 2007
Source: State Journal-Register (IL)
Copyright: 2007 The State Journal-Register
Contact:  http://www.sj-r.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/425
Author: Kelsea Gurski

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.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Derek