A marijuana activist holds up a sign as police keep the CU-Boulder campus closed off to the general public today, April 20, 2012. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

 

University of Colorado police have so far arrested three people — apparently students — and ticketed another in a crackdown on the annual pro-marijuana gathering known as 4/20.

The arrests came around 1:30 p.m. today, when a trio of people crossed the police tape surrounding the university's Norlin Quad and sat down in the grass. Witnesses said the three made statements in support of marijuana legalization and against the university's efforts to stop 4/20 gatherings on campus.

CU police spokesman Ryan Huff said the three were arrested for trespass, a misdemeanor carrying a possible 6-month jail term and a $750 fine.

"Our officers were very cordial," CU police spokesman Ryan Huff said. The protesters, he said, "were even allowed to sit on the grass for a few minutes and say their message."

Huff said officers have also written one ticket for marijuana possession today. The four actions are the only major events so far on a day when CU officials have taken the extraordinary step of closing the campus to outsiders and closing Norlin Quad entirely to squelch 4/20, which in years past has drawn 10,000 people to campus for a mass marijuana smoke-up that commences at 4:20 p.m.

But that has not meant the day has been uneventful for CU students, who appear split over whether the crackdown — and the police presence that enforces it — is a good thing.

"We're getting no shortage of feedback," CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said.

Some students complained about having to show their school identification to be allowed onto campus and about the uncomfortable atmosphere so many police officers on campus creates. Others said they are enjoying the commotion.

CU student Boston Cleek took advantage of the moment by creating a poster-sized copy of his student ID and carrying it around.

"I just thought it would make people laugh," he said, "because people are complaining so much" about having

A large crowd gathered Friday, April 20, 2012, during Denver's 420 Rally in Civic Center. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

Members of the CU chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy are staging a small protest near Norlin Quad to decry the university's crackdown and speak out against the war on drugs. Law student Laura Schneider said she was upset that the crackdown caused a visiting lecturer who was to speak at one of her classes today to cancel.

"For me, that is a direct loss," she said. "The smokers, the pot heads, they didn't cause class to close. The school caused class to close."

But CU economics student Chris Anderson said the annual marijuana smoke-up, which has received national attention, gives the university a bad image that reflects on all its graduates and said the university is justified in its actions. Anderson was one of several students who wore a suit and tie to campus today, part of a "Stay Classy, CU" counter-4/20 demonstration.

"I don't want to be going into a job interview and have someone asking me if I smoke weed," Anderson said.

Asked what he would be doing at 4:20 p.m., Anderson — who completed his sartorial statement with a pair of Ray-Ban-style sunglasses — smiled.

"Mostly, staying classy," he said.

Several thousand people have gathered in Denver's Civic Center where a haze has already started to rise from the massive crowd. Music could be heard as early as 8 a.m. — by noon several hundred people had already gathered.

John Chotia, 43, said he attends the smokeout every year.

"I don't want see all drugs legalized, just marijuana," Chotia said. "It's a great event because people can come out and freely use their medicine. The vibe at the event is one of the best parts."

A number of vendors in the park are selling everything from bongs and pipes to lemonade and hot dogs. Chotia said the vendors have changed the feel of the smokeout during the years.

"The real drag is, back in the day you didn't have the commercialism," Chotia said. "You didn't come here to make money off of it."

As of 3:30 p.m., police officers had issued a handful of citations for illegal possession, said Raquel Lopez, spokeswoman for the Denver Police Department. The majority of officers are monitoring the event from the edge of the park.

"From the numbers(citations) we are receiving, opposed to the number of people there, it sounds like people are being pretty respectful," Lopez said.

Jay Berino took two hits from a thick joint before he passed it to his group of friends sitting in the park. The 24-year-old said he felt comfortable smoking marijuana and is not worried about getting a ticket. "It's nice to smoke in the park, no pressure."

Supporters of the 4/20 gathering say the event is a show of civil disobedience against what they say are unjust marijuana laws.

In Boulder, opponents say the event clogs campus walkways and disrupts classes, CU officials say. Carly Robinson, one of CU's student-government leaders, said the event drew numerous students who just wanted to watch, making it more of a spectacle than a demonstration. For that reason, Robinson said, the student government decided to stage a free concert by Wyclef Jean at the Coors Events Center, across campus from Norlin Quad. The doors close at 4 p.m., meaning attendees won't be able also to attend whatever pro-marijuana demonstration may occur at 4:20 this afternoon.

"It was something that was very disruptive to our campus," Robinson said of 4/20. "We thought the concert would be something that wasn't disruptive."

The student governmentis spending $150,000to stage the event.

Huff said police expect to spend more than $100,000 on campus security for the 4/20 crackdown.

CU student Kate Boyles wasn't impressed with those numbers.

"That's a lot of money just to get kids off the lawn at 4:20," she said.

The university also deployed a more pungent weapon against 4/20. Early this morning, crews began spraying a fish-based fertilizer on Norlin Quad — part of an annual lawn-care regimen that the university this year timed to keep 4/20 participants off the greenspace.

The fertilizer — which Hilliard says is organic and made from deep-sea fish that feed on deep-sea plankton — gives the lawn the aroma of a zoo's penguin enclosure. One student walking by the quad this morning sniffed the fertilizer — and began running.