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Denver Police Realize Lowest Priority for Cannabis Enforcement

April 21, 2008

[Denver] -- Congratulations to the Denver Police Department and the Mayor's Office for accomplishing a "low priority" event at the 4/20 Rally in Civic Center Park this year.

4/20 is International Cannabis Day, celebrated by millions of people throughout the world. Every year on 4/20 at 4:20 pm, citizens worldwide gather together to celebrate their favorite plant.

The Denver 4/20 Rally was the first 4/20 Rally to be held since the passage of a "lowest priority" law in 2007 that makes cannabis possession the "lowest priority" for law enforcement in the city of Denver.

In 2005, Denver voters made small amounts of cannabis legal for adults over 21 years old, but cannabis arrests continued to rise.

Participants of the 420 Rally in Civic Center Park were happy to see that the Denver Police were present, but not actively enforcing state laws against marijuana possession as they had in the past. The numbers are not yet finalized, but estimates are that only a handful of people experienced any interaction with law enforcement at all. Last year, there were over 100 police that made over 60 arrests. Perhaps this signals a change in policy for the Denver Police and arrests will continue to drop overall.

Since opponents of cannabis relegalization are likely to be vocal in their opposition to the police standing by while thousands of people smoked cannabis openly, we are encouraging supporters of cannabis to call the Denver Police and say "Thank You" for providing a safe and enjoyable 4/20 Rally. Tell them that they hope they maintain the same non-confrontational tactics when thousands of protesters converge on Denver for the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 25-28, 2008.

Contact the Denver Police, Mayor's Office and City Council and to say THANK YOU for making marijuana law enforcement a low priority on 4/20/08 in Civic Center Park.

Denver Police Department
Internal Affairs Division (handles compliments and complaints)
720-913-6019
Click here to fill out an online commendation form

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper
Phone: 720-865-9000 (Denver 311)
Ask for the Mayor's Office
E-mail: MileHighMayor@ci.denver.co.us
Website: www.denvergov.org/mayor

Denver City Council
Phone: 720-865-9534
Email: dencc@ci.denver.co.us
Website: www.denvergov.org/CityCouncil

Videos

4/20 Rally in Denver by Vflog

4/20 Rally in Denver by CapnCannabis

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