Students Observe 'Pot Holiday'
The first warm, sunny day of the spring always brings UVM students out to North Beach.
"Just hanging out, doing some grilling," said UVM sophomore Dan Kropp. "It's a beautiful day. I had a half day of classes. We might as well enjoy the nice weather."
A few students were there for another reason too. At 4:20 in the afternoon, on the date 4/20, some were getting high and not just on the swings. "Smoke weed?" one asked. "Oh yeah, we get down, if that's what you're asking."
"It's just a holiday for a subculture, you know a counter-culture. the marijuana counter-culture," explained UVM sophomore Harrison Hagan. That so-called holiday began years ago as a rally to legalize pot. But Hagan said he was not there to make a political statement. "I get really high," he said. "That's all I do. I get really high."
"It used to be a big rally event, but I guess the administration shut it down," said Erika Partee, a UVM junior.
The event used to happen on the UVM green. Three years ago, more than a thousand people turned out. But campus officials cracked down, beefing up police presence to deter illegal drug use. Some students said they still think marijuana should be legalized, but don't see a need to flaunt it. "I think when you make it illegal, you create this whole culture that doesn't really result from pot, it just results from the illegality of the activity," Partee said.
Police, though, said smoking pot is still an illegal activity, on 4/20 and on every other day of the year. But they did not patrol the beach looking for violators.
"We didn't have any reported problems this year with 4/20," said Lt. Scott Davidson of the Burlington Police Department. "There were no arrests made, no reports of marijuana use to us, and we didn't respond to any calls."
For most students here, a day at the beach was about kicking back, not lighting up. And their only smoke was from the grills.
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