Say "Thank You" : Denver Police Realize Lowest Priority for Cannabis Enforcement

[Courtesy of Denver 420 Coalition] [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. Denver citizens have been outspoken in favor of legalization of cannabis for adults. In addition to the lowest priority vote last year, they voted in 2005 to make small amounts of cannabis legal for adults and voted in 2006 to pass the same measure statewide. Despite these 3 votes, cannabis arrests have 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 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. Also 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. Denver Police Department Internal Affairs Division (handles compliments and complaints) 720-913-6019 Click below to fill out an online ommendation form: ttp://www.denvergov.org/OIM/ComplaintCommendationForm/OnlineComplaintCommendationForm/tabid/425496/Default.aspx Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper Phone: 720-865-9000 (Denver 311) Ask for the Mayor's Office E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.denvergov.org/mayor Denver City Council Phone: 720-865-9534 Email: [email protected] Website: www.denvergov.org/CityCouncil *************************************************************************** Presented as a Public Service by the: Denver 420 Coalition Promoting Cannabis-related Tourism in Denver and Colorado http://www.denver420.com/ *************************************************************************** VIDEOS Vflog video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6XqSzjL7_E CapnCannabis Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3X1Mavc63s