Pubdate: Fri, 11 Apr 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Jon Murray
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

DENVER GIVES OK TO 4/20 ORGANIZERS

The Two-Day Festival Is Expected to Draw Tens of Thousands to Civic 
Center Park.

Denver Parks and Recreation on Thursday gave the official go-ahead to 
organizers of this year's 4/20 rally, which has grown into a two-day festival.

That means parks officials have resolved any concerns remaining from 
a fight over whether the city should sanction public consumption of 
marijuana during the massive April 19-20 event at Civic Center park, 
which is expected to draw tens of thousands of people.

Organizer Miguel Lopez and attorney Robert Corry had asked the city 
in February to publicly endorse the widespread pot smoking that long 
has occurred during the event anyway without police permission.

But officials, including Mayor Michael Hancock and City Attorney 
Scott Martinez, balked, noting that Amendment 64 did not permit the 
public use of cannabis, and city ordinance explicitly bars it.

The resolution of the dispute included organizers' agreement to post 
those rules at the festival. They also will advise attendees that pot 
consumption in public still is illegal, though organizers disagree 
with the law.

Denver police say they will take the same approach as usual this 
year, focusing on ensuring safety rather than issuing mass citations 
for public consumption.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom