University of Colorado Boulder shuts down annual 420 Pot Bash

University of Colorado closed to unauthorized visitors, non-affiliates on April 20
The University of Colorado Boulder announced today it will be open to students, faculty and staff on April 20, but closed to unauthorized non-affiliates due to the disruption caused by the 4/20 gathering.

“The gathering disrupts teaching and research right in the heart of the campus,” said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “The size of the crowd has become unmanageable, and limits our faculty, staff and students from getting to class, entering buildings and doing their basic work. It needs to end.”

Further the event is attended mostly by CU freshman from campus. The outsiders come from all over the state. It has been their premier rally for legalizing marijuana in the USA. Pot lobbyists and activists use the event to promote drug use. With nice weather crowds could exceed 50,000. The university does not want to be know as the hippie pot smoking capital of the universe.  With larger crowds expected, rampant illegal drug dealing, the university has finally had enough. 

The ACLU has taken up the pot smokers cause, but legal experts say it is a lost cause: The university has a right to shut down in the face of massive criminal activity .

Law enforcement officials say they are prepared for 1000′s of arrests if need be. Over 1000 police are expected. 300 swat officers will be held in reserve and over 5000 National Guard will be held in ready reserve able to deploy in 1 hours notice.  One legal official told us the fines are so steep for everything that it won’t be worth it to even attempt to come to Boulder. DUIs cost an estimated $20,000. State patrol will be targeting hippies driving in from Denver.

Boulder County will have out door jail space for 10,000 ready to go.  One university official said: We aren’t fooling around. 

On Friday, April 20, CU-Boulder’s normal academic activity will continue as scheduled, but the following measures will be in place:

• Students, faculty, staff and all CU-Boulder affiliates will need their Buff OneCard IDs to get on, and around, the campus. Those not affiliated with CU-Boulder will not be permitted on campus and face tickets for trespassing. Those cited for trespassing face punishment of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. District Attorney Stan Garnett has discussed April 20 enforcement operations with CU Police officials. His office will handle the prosecution of those who receive tickets. “As always, the District Attorney’s Office will work to support the efforts of the CU Police Department,” Garnett said.
• For those visitors who have tickets for CU events on April 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., or who are participants in academic meetings, symposia, conferences or other officially sanctioned activities, limited access to campus will be provided via a special registration program. Visitors will check in at the CU-Boulder East Campus Administrative and Research Center at 3100 Marine St. Please register for this service by going online to http://www.colorado.edu/april20 beginning Monday, April 16 at 8 a.m. or call the CU information line at 303-492-4636.  After 6 p.m., no special access to the campus is required, though visitors should be advised that traffic getting into and out of the campus is likely to be heavy.
• Police will be checking for Buff OneCard IDs, and have checkpoints set up at all major campus entrances.
• Norlin Quad lawn areas will be closed to all people. Anyone, regardless of campus affiliation, who enters these areas may face a ticket for trespassing. Closure signage will be clearly displayed in this area. All areas of the campus – including other fields – will be closed to non-affiliates.
• Visitors will not be allowed to park on campus. Attendants will check those traveling to campus for BuffOne IDs and parking permits.
• CU Police issued tickets for marijuana possession last year. Officers will do the same this year. However, this year people will see a larger presence of officers.
• Those who smoke marijuana can face a ticket, which can result in a $100 fine, revocation of a person’s medical marijuana registry card upon conviction, and sanctions against students who receive tickets by CU’s Office of Student Conduct.
• A large presence of police officers from CU-Boulder and regional agencies will be present. The Colorado State Patrol will conduct enhanced patrols on U.S. 36, Colo. 93, the Diagonal Highway and other highways throughout the day, looking for drivers under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
• The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will have a team of officers deployed on campus and throughout Boulder to monitor medical marijuana centers and ensure compliance with licensing regulations.
• CU organizations and academic units have been advised to move non-essential meetings and gatherings that require visitors, partners and stakeholders to more convenient times later in the spring semester.
• Regent Drive will be closed to through traffic from approximately 1:30 to 6 p.m. Buses will be allowed to use Regent Drive, but drivers should plan alternate routes.
• The Buff Bus and RTD Stampede, 209, and J routes will be impacted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Please seehttp://www.colorado.edu/pts/news/index.html for details on how these routes will be altered and/or delayed.

The university announced on April 3 that a concert with the performer Wyclef Jean, sponsored by the CU Student Government in partnership with CU-Boulder’s Program Council, will be hosted at the Coors Events Center. Doors open at 2 p.m. and all CU students with BuffOne cards are invited to attend. The show is expected to end at 7 p.m. No non-CU students will be admitted.

The city of Boulder shut down the Halloween Mall Crawl in 1990 after crowds of over 50,000 became wild, a media circus and put huge financial strains on the city. It is hoped with this new shut down that CU students who want to celebrate 420 will do it quietly and not turn it into a national sensation embarrassing the entire University of Colorado. Parents who see this will be less likely to send their kids to CU and this event sends the wrong message. Which is if you are a doper CU is the place to come. 

Drug addiction has been a problem on the CU campus since the late 1960s.  Shutting down 420 will help to solve this health issue too.

by BC1 staff

CU News services contributed to this story

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