cannabisnews.com: Police Keep 4-20 Revelers From Lighting Up Police Keep 4-20 Revelers From Lighting Up Posted by FoM on April 20, 2002 at 17:11:49 PT By Associated Press Source: Associated Press The 420 celebration at the University of Vermont will go down as the pot party that wasn't. A massive police presence at the annual event that used to be a protest against drug laws, which highlighted by hundreds of people smoking marijuana in public, kept the weed away. Instead, Saturday afternoon culminated a three-day drug- and alcohol- free celebration of spring that was designed to keep people from lighting up. ''I think today was a great success,'' UVM Police Chief Gary Margolis said Saturday afternoon as the party was breaking up. ''There were no crowds that got together and lit up.'' There was one arrest at the university-sponsored counter event, a rock concert in front of the school library. And that was for disorderly conduct, UVM police said. A student group spent $55,000 to create a three-day drug- and alcohol-free celebration of spring to divert students from gathering to smoke pot. ''Spring Fest'' ended with an afternoon of music outside Bailey-Howe Library. Student leaders and administrators said the university could no longer ignore the annual mass dope-smoking because it has tarnished the school's image with lawmakers, alumni and private donors. Some students wore T-shirts with designs of marijuana leaves on the front and the slogan 4-20-02 Complete Title: Pot Party a Bust: Police Presence Keeps 4-20 Revelers From Lighting Up Source: Associated PressPublished: April 20, 2002Copyright: 2002 Associated PressUVM Hoping to Discourage Marijuana Smoke-inhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12527.shtmlCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by project419 on April 22, 2002 at 10:18:28 PT Yay!!!!! Wow...you guys just spend 55,000 just so all the pot smokers would go inside and smoke instead....damn...not a bad investment....Do you ever think they should of just asked people not to smoke pot in public instead? i think it would have been a little cheaper. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on April 20, 2002 at 18:58:44 PT The springtime police buildups of history... A massive police presence at the annual event that used to be a protest against drug laws, which highlighted by hundreds of people smoking marijuana in public, kept the weed away.There was a massive Roman presence at Passover about 2000 years ago but it didn't squash that growing social movement either. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Morgan on April 20, 2002 at 17:41:43 PT Image is Reality "Student leaders and administrators said the university could no longer ignore the annual mass dope-smoking because it has tarnished the school's image with lawmakers, alumni and private donors."I'm sure they thought it was worth it, as it presented the IMAGE to lawmakers, alumni and private donors that nobody was smoking pot. And IMAGE is everything to these people. REALITY, on the other hand... they seem to have some trouble grasping. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on April 20, 2002 at 17:24:36 PT At what expense to whom? A massive police presence at the annual event that used to be a protest against drug laws, which highlighted by hundreds of people smoking marijuana in public, kept the weed away.I hope those who paid the bill for that massive presence thought it was worth all that money to keep a few people from doing in public what they're going to do in private anyways. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment