Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: Erica Meltzer and Mitchell Byars

JUDGE DENIES REQUEST TO BLOCK CU FROM BARRING VISITORS FOR 4/20 
MARIJUANA SMOKE-OUT

BOULDER - Boulder District Judge Andrew Macdonald on Thursday evening 
denied an emergency request to block the University of Colorado from 
closing the Boulder campus to visitors today in its continued efforts 
to end the annual 4/20 marijuana smoke-out.

Macdonald's ruling came at the end of a nearly four-hour hearing in 
Boulder District Court.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday morning, named six plaintiffs - Rob 
Smoke, Timothy Tipton, Jack Branson, Katherine Cummins, Evan Ravitz 
and Tom Cummins - as nonstudents who "wish to participate in and 
exercise (their) constitutional rights of free speech and free 
association on the CU-Boulder campus on April 20."

They were represented by Rob Corry, a Denver attorney who has been a 
prominent voice for marijuana legalization and the rights of 
medical-marijuana patients.

"First and foremost, I'm not aware of any case where a public 
university has shut down its entire campus for a peaceful protest 
that takes place on 2 acres of that campus," Corry said in an 
interview. "It's an extreme overreaction to this protest. Second of 
all, it's important that this protest continue. It is a peaceful 
protest on an important issue of the day."

Far from being a disruption, the 4/20 event contributes to the 
purpose of the university, Corry said.

"Not all learning takes place in the classroom," he said. "Squelching 
the marketplace of ideas hurts the university. This is far more 
important than marijuana."

In the complaint, Corry wrote, "CU's proposed closure of an entire 
campus to shut down an afternoon protest occurring on a small portion 
of the campus is without legal support or precedent."

Chancellor Phil DiStefano on Thursday defended his decision to close 
the campus to visitors.

"The closure of campus is something we took very seriously and very 
deliberately, and we believe it's in the best interest of the campus 
to do so," DiStefano said. "We'll certainly make that case to the 
judge. We didn't make this decision haphazardly."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom