Pubdate: Thu, 21 Apr 2016
Source: Porterville Recorder (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Associated Press
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/AJm5UIc8
Website: http://www.recorderonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2887
Author: Paul Elias, Associated Press

THOUSANDS PUFF FOR LEGAL POT AT 4/20 PARTIES THROUGHOUT U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Thousands sent up a cheer and a collective plume 
of marijuana smoke at the stroke of 4:20 p.m. Wednesday in San 
Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

They gathered at the park's "Hippie Hill" to toke up, eat and drink 
the afternoon away into the night. A plane dragging a banner 
encouraging attendees to "smoke weed" circled overhead, while 
unlicensed vendors set up tables and makeshift tents to sell all 
types and strains of bud, not to mention T-shirts, pipes and food.

This year's celebrations of all things marijuana throughout the U.S. 
come amid loosening restrictions and increasing tolerance for the 
plant's use from Alaska to Massachusetts.

Fans of the drug have long marked April 20 as a day to roll weed or 
munch on pot-laced brownies and call for increased legal access to it.

In San Francisco, a man was asking $100 for an 8-inch bud of 
marijuana he said weighed more than 3 grams. Nearby, liquid tinctures 
said to contain the active ingredient in marijuana were selling for 
$10 for a 4-ounce bottle. There were plenty of laced Jolly Ranchers, 
baked goods and other edibles available.

Marlene Manning, pushing a stroller with her 6-month-old 
granddaughter, was glad to be back in her native California for the 
annual 4/20 celebration. She wasn't partaking, but said she was 
celebrating freedom.

"This is so refreshing," the 50-year-old woman said, adding that she 
just relocated from Florida, where "everything is against the law,"

It could be the last unofficial pot holiday on which users have to 
call for legalization in California, with a pot initiative expected 
on the November ballot. The drug's use for medical purposes got 
approved in 1996.

Voters in Nevada, Arizona and Massachusetts also are expected to 
consider marijuana legalization measures. And the Vermont Legislature 
is discussing a proposal to legalize the possession of up to 1 ounce.

Recreational use already is legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

In Anchorage, Alaska, a downtown marijuana pot club scheduled a "420 
Blaze Party" in a state where recreational use is legal but sales of 
weed aren't until later this summer.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom