BREAKING NEWS: Sides will debate marijuana issue - CU's 420 Event

By Joey Bunch
The Denver Post

Organizers of the University of Colorado's 420 pot-smokers' holiday hope attendees don't just get high, but also get smart.

Student organizers have lined up local and national speakers from both sides of the issue, including liberals and conservatives, legalization advocates and law enforcement leaders for forums Saturday through Monday.

"There never has been an intellectual public discourse on marijuana" in the event's 16 years at CU, said Alex Douglas, a junior sociology major and director of the school's chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

"Putting both sides of the issue on the table, the forum offers the opportunity for students and the community to be engaged and educated in all aspects of the marijuana issue."

Besides Douglas, the lineup of speakers includes:

Steve Bloom, founding editor of High Times magazine.

Kevin Booth, producer and director of the documentary "American Drug War."

Jessica Peck Corry, a conservative pundit and executive director of the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative.

Retired Lafayette judge Lenny Frieling.

Food and Drug Administration official Devin Koontz.

Allen St. Pierre, national executive director of NORML.

Cmdr. Tom Sloan of the Boulder County Drug Task Force.

The forum culminates with hundreds of students and other pot users toking up at 4:20 p.m. on April 20 on CU's Norlin Quad in Boulder. A similar event will be held at the same time in Denver's Civic Center Park.

The national event is named after "420," the statute number in the California legal code that bans marijuana possession.

In past years CU has tried to thwart the event, writing tickets, taking photographs and posting them online, even turning on sprinklers. Denver police also have written citations, but mostly monitor the crowd for safety issues, police said last year.

For a schedule of speakers visit www.normlcu.com/.