'Let Us Have Our Celebration': 4/20 Festival-Goer
DENVER (CBS4) - This weekend's pro-cannabis celebrations are in full force and police have been busy handing out tickets to people smoking marijuana in public.
Officers issued 60 citations on the first day of the 4/20 rally in Civic Center Park on Saturday. Police continued to be onsite to encourage people to celebrate responsibly on Sunday, and that meant more citations for people smoking in the open.
The 4/20 rally at Civic Center Park attracted an estimated 60,000 people from across the state, and around the country.
PHOTO GALLERY: 4/20 Festival In Denver
"We're really celebrating the cannabis culture through music and through festival and food," said Santino Walter, event producer with 4/20 Events. "The marijuana usage is something that we're lucky, I'm in Colorado, we get to do it every day."
Flashing city signs served as reminders that smoking pot in public is illegal. But people everywhere were not heeding that warning.
"Even though the signs are out there, it's funny kind of to see, honestly, because everyone's smoking, and I haven't really seen anybody get in trouble," said Ashley Cox, cannabis enthusiast.
Denver police spokesperson Raquel Lopez says the law is clear.
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"Even though the event itself does have a permit, they still cannot smoke in public," Lopez said.
But attendees CBS4 spoke with say April 20 should be the exception. "Michelle" and her friends were not worried about getting cited for lighting up in the open.
"Not today, not this weekend. For this celebration I don't believe they should," Michelle said. "Let it be, let us have our celebration, and then be done. After that, you bet ya."
Despite earlier efforts to keep the event going on through Monday, event organizers say the 4/20 festival will end Sunday night. They will, however, hold an assembly on a much smaller scale Monday on 4/20 across the street at Lincoln Park.
