April 20, 2010 – 4/20 smoke-outs are a series of cannabis rallies that will demonstrate, as they do every year, the impracticability of enforcing the current marijuana laws. Drug peace activists invite all herb enthusiasts to join them in defiant solidarity. Everyone is invited to publicly show their love of the weed and experience a taste of freedom by doobie demonstrating with activists in your area. Planned events for this 4/20 are as follows:

USA

Denver, Colorado
Smokeout – State Capital in Denver.
Location: Civic Center Park, (intersection of Colfax and Broadway)
The official “Smoke Out” is to occur at 4:20 in the afternoon,
but there will be tons of people hanging out and smoking in the park all day long.
RIP to Ken Gorman, the original organizer of the 4/20 smoke out event in Denver.

Boulder, Colorado
Boulder’s Central Park
Corner Broadway & Canyon
Starting at High noon we will jam all day to peak at 4:20

Concord, New Hampshire
4:20 PM on April 20, 2010
On the steps of the State House.
116-130 U.S. 3
Concord, NH 03301

Keene, New Hampshire
Central Square,
right in downtown Keene.
Keene, NH 03431

Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester: SOKE OUT 2pm
Veterans Park, right in downtown Manchester,
or Victory Park, near the N.H. Institute of Art.

Nashua, New Hampshire
Library Hill,
The intersection of Main Street and Amherst Street.

Boston, Massachusetts
April 20, 2010: Dan Gervais will start a long 420 walk, from Boston to Los Angeles. He calls it the War on Lies Walk. Waronlies.net
The Freedom Rally Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MASS CANN)
Location across the Common on the Carty Parade Field.

Long Island, New York
420 Party at Creek and the Cave
Location: Long Island City, NY
Event Site: www.thecreekandthecave.com
The party starts @ 4:20. Of course, drink specials.

Brooklyn, New York
Liberty Heights Tap Room
34 Van Dyke St. (corner Dwight St.)
Brooklyn, New York 11231
FREE SHOW!!

San Diego, California
Seedless Clothing 9th Annual 4/20 Party
Event Site: www.seedlessclothing.com
SeedLess Clothing lines Annual Party…..
C-ya there …. Think Green!!!!

Sherman Oaks, California
Faded Smoke Shop’s Anniversary
& 4/20 Extraveganza
Huge Raffle
Refreshments and much more
14517 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Los Angeles, California
Sublime with Rome are back again!
The trio will be hitting the stage at The Palladium in Los Angeles, CA
SmokeOut@420

Oakland, California
Solano Patients’ Group
Location: Oakland, CA
4:20pm-6:20pm

Oakland: Oaksterdam 420 Party!
Lakeside Park Garden
Fresno, California
4/20 Fest
CSUF NORML is hosting a 4/20 Informational
Rally/Concert at the Free Speech Area on the
campus of California State University, Fresno.
4:00pm – 11pm.

San Franciso, California
Haight and Ashbury
Let’s put together the worlds largest 420 celebration ever.

http://www.420sanfrancisco.com

Hollywood, California
Craig X’s smoke out
5150 Lankershim in No. Hollywood.
4:00pm

Dallas, Texas
The Green Reefer
Event Site: www.thegreenreefer.com
Location: Green Elephant – Dallas, TX
Event Time: 9PM
NORML 4/20 event party. The Green Reefer will have a vendor booth and enjoy music and drinks with the counterculture.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
OFFICIAL 4/20 PARTY in Sioux Falls
Event Site: www.myspace.com/thequakercitynighthawks
The Lava Lounge.

Las Vegas, Nevada
Nevada NORML Presents Vegas 420 Music Fest
Event Site: http://nevadanorml.org/
The Ice House
Hosted by Puck of MTV’s the Real World
4/20 & 21st @ the Ice House

Phoenix, Arizona
Campaign to Educate II
East Court Building
101 W. Jefferson
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Rain Baker
CAMP420 Meet Up Organizer
In front of the courthouse where Advocate Rex was tried and sentenced like a criminal.

Springfield, Missouri
Remmington’s Downtown
Doors at 4:00pm, Show at 8 p.m.
NORML weed raffles and joint-rolling contests.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Liberty Bell @ Independence Mall
Location: 501 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia , PA 19106
2 Day march, peace vigil and smoke-in

Miami, Florida
Churchill’s 420 Festival
5501 NE 2nd Ave
Music and Smoke
4/20 BBQ Smokeout at PS14 – Miami

CANADA

Vancouver, British Columbia
Art Gallery, Downtown Vancouver
Celebration starts at 1 p.m., goes to 9.00 p.m.
FREE WEED and extra Prizes for Best Pot Plants and Pot Posters at 4:20

A SMOKE OUT – A 420 CELEBRATION
Victoria, British Columbia
City Hall/Centennial Square
1 Centennial Square
Victoria, BC

Calgary Meet & Greet
Calgary, Alberta
4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Calgary City Hall:
800 Macleod Trail SE
Second annual 420 FilmFest
Submissions accepted from around the world!
More information http://www.420filmfest.org/

Regina, Saskatchewan
2:00pm-4:20pm
Victoria Park (Downtown Regina)
Free Herbal Aire Vaporizer for best sign,
with lots more prizes for other signs

Winnipeg, Manitoba
Legislative Building
Broadway and Osbourne
Noon – ?

Thunder Bay, Ontario
KUSH Loungue
Live music, competitions, and more!
Must be a Green Scene Productions membership to enter
Email greensceneproductions@gmail.com

Toronto, Ontario
SMOKEOUT hashmob.ca
Yonge & Dundas Square
Gather Near Q107
Protest starts at 2 p.m.
Cannabis Cannon Goes Off at 4:20
Yongesterdam, Toronto

Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa Major’s Hill Park
2:00pm – 5:00pm
and…

Parliament Hill, Ottawa
4:20pm

Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton Ferguson Station
2:00 pm Smoke Out
Prizes at 4:20pm

Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls Hwy 420 & Victoria Ave. Parkette 2 p.m.
Smoke Out then March on Clifton Hill 3:15 p.m.

WORLDWIDE

Dunedin, New Zealand
Location: Dunedin, New Zealand
Members of Otago NORML and some students at Otago University meet every 4:20 under the Walnut tree on the Otago University Union Lawn to smoke cannabis in defiance of New Zealand’s cannabis laws.

Auckland, New Zealand
The 420 group meets regularly at the Daktory
A cannabis dispensary and cannabis connoisseur’s club located in the suburb of New Lynn, Waitakere City (incorporated in the Auckland metropolitan area), New Zealand.

Source.

April 19, 2010 – Tomorrow is April 20th. Often, this date is shortened to “4/20.” According to a 2007 Associated Press article titled “Drug Study Words,” 4/20, 420, or 4:20 “stands for April 20 or the time 4:20. Years ago 4:20 pm was deemed the time of day to get high and April 20 became ‘National Pot Smoking Day.’”

According to Steven Hager, editor of High Times, a pro-marijuana and marijuana culture magazine, the term originated in California, at San Rafael High School, in 1971. As Hager puts it, “The term was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot.” The students in question used “420” as code for a time to get high, and its use spread. In light of this, a national economic crisis fueling marijuana advocates to suggest that legalization of the substance would increase state and federal budgets, and an upcoming historical ballot item in California, The Carolinian will briefly address the debate on marijuana legalization.

Marijuana is decriminalized in 13 states, including North Carolina, but many counties and cities have decriminalized marijuana as well. Decriminalization ends criminal penalties associated with specific actions, but generally permits and includes a monetary fine in place of criminal charges. This is different than legalization, which would end all penalties of any kind. There are diehard, stern opinions on both sides of the argument, and according to a new report, released April 1, 2010, by the Pew Research Center 73 percent of Americans say they support their state permitting the sale and use of doctor prescribed, medical marijuana. The research is disputed, but the idea is that marijuana use, its affects of euphoria, serenity, and calm can help patients suffering both mental and physical ailments. Many states already have medical marijuana laws, it is still technically federally illegal, but the Obama administration stated last year it would not seek federal narcotics prosecution against those acting within the parameters of their state’s law. Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington already have some form of permissive medical marijuana legislation. Even so, 46 percent of those surveyed in the Pew study did say legalizing marijuana for medicinal use makes it easier for people to use marijuana, if they have a medical need for it or not. The question becomes, “Is it bad for you if you are not in pain or dying?”

Pro-Marijuana groups like NORML (National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws) assert that Marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. They endorse many reasons to decriminalize, and even legalize marijuana. One is that criminalization of marijuana makes lawbreakers out of citizens that would otherwise follow the law. According to a study published by Time Magazine, 42 percent of Americans surveyed admitted to have trying pot at least once. Decriminalization frees up more law enforcement to work on other crimes say marijuana advocates. If one assumes the use of marijuana does not lead to accidents or crime, and this is not necessarily the case, this assertion is in line with the 2001 FBI Uniform Crime Report: Crime in the United States 2000, which states, Police arrest more Americans per year on marijuana charges than the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Advocacy groups also try to push for marijuana decriminalization by arguing that if marijuana is sold legally and taxed heavily, like tobacco, its potency could be regulated, dealers of the substance could be registered, and taxes would add revenue to state budgets that are struggling around the country. Tobacco is North Carolina’s number one cash crop. Proponents also point to the violent drug cartels, especially in Mexico, that make most of their money in marijuana trafficking. Legalization would take a great part of their market. Some pro-pot advocates are simply personal liberty proponents, and see drug legislation as a limitation on personal freedom.

On the other side of the fence, opponents of marijuana argue that not only is marijuana incredibly bad for human health, physically and mentally, but that legalization would lead to rampant drug use, as marijuana is often used as a stepping stone to harder drugs. This idea was recently challenged by a 2006 University of Pittsburgh study, but other studies have historically backed up this notion. In kind, opponents argue that easier access to marijuana would mean easier access for everyone, including children. They fear that incidents marijuana-influenced driving would go up. A Kaiser Family Foundation study found in a survey of emergency room trauma patients that of those surveyed 34.7 percent were under the influence of marijuana, more even than alcohol (33.5 percent); half of these (16.5 percent) used both pot and alcohol in combination. Many studies show that regular marijuana use can affect short-term memory, and impair motor functions when under the influence. While not the only method of ingestion, marijuana is often smoked, leading to similar health effects of tobacco smoking such as lung disease and harmful second hand smoke. Other opponents just find using marijuana to be morally wrong and thus should be prohibited.

In November, an initiative that would legalize personal marijuana possession and allow regulated sales of marijuana to adults will be on California’s general election ballot. Activists based in Oakland gathered 690,000 signatures from all but one California county. Only 434,000 are required to qualify for the ballot. So far the initiative seems to have wide support, with many crediting the tax revenue potential. According to one state calculation, California’s debt is up to 37 percent of its economic output. Come November, history could be made, but this debate is far from over. Source.