Saturday afternoon at the Denver 420 rally in Civic Center Park was really a lot of fun, until about 5 PM. Crowds of people of all ages and walks of life showed for this year’s festivities, a seemingly more diverse crowd now that marijuana has been legalized in Colorado.

You certainly couldn’t have confused this day with any other; countless small circles of people passing joints dotted the grass in the outer areas of the park, rivers of smoking pedestrians flowed around the central sea of smokers.

This was all enjoyable enough for me to simply stand with a dazed grin watching the people and breathing the communal cloud of smoke. Then as the clock neared 4:20 PM everyone got ready for some serious smoking. I was fortunate enough to stand next to two very generous gentlemen with a blunt fatter than my thumb. When the clock struck 4:20, long cheers from the crowd were punctuated by periods of silence (and hacking) as a visible cloud of smoke filled Civic Center Park. Even if I hadn’t been smoking all afternoon, I’m positive that I would have been just as baked by that sweet-smelling haze that filled the air.

Shortly after one of the best 420 experiences I’ve had, some folks had to go and get crazy. I don’t think anyone knows exactly what happened right now, only that three people and a dog were shot and that the police are searching for two suspects. We at Weedist wish the victims a speedy recovery, and are very glad no one was killed.

Don’t be discouraged by this violence, join me again at next year’s Denver 420 rally to celebrate our freedom to use one of nature’s most magnificent plants.