Thousands of Pot Smokers Gather in Denver for 420 Rally - East Idaho News
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Thousands of Pot Smokers Gather in Denver for 420 Rally

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Getty 081512 MarijuanaPlant?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1366476662526iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DENVER) — Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather and smoke marijuana in downtown Denver to celebrate April 20, a stoner holiday known as 420.

The celebration, to be held in the Denver Civic Center Park, is the largest 420 gathering, and is expected to see 80,000 participants.

“We’ve already met people from all over the country,” said Miguel Lopez, who organized the rally.

This is the first 420 celebration in Denver since Colorado passed Amendment 64, which makes it legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. The law does prohibit smoking in public, but with such  large numbers, officials say they won’t be targeting tokers, and instead will focus on crowd security.

“Even Amsterdam doesn’t have the quality of legalization that Colorado does as far as marijuana,” said JJ Walker, the co-founder of My 420 Tours, the first pot-themed tour operator in the nation.

Washington State passed a nearly identical referendum, but Denver’s festivities are by far the largest.

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