Amy McBain of Evergreen, left, and Kim Logsdon of Denver celebrate 4/20 at Civic Center in Denver. Photo By Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post

A one-day amnesty for public pot smoking? (editorial)

By The Denver Post Editorial Board

Fellow Denver council members on Monday immediately shot down Councilman Chris Nevitt’s idea to have a one-day amnesty for pot-smoking on April 20, but we think the general notion has some merit.

No, we don’t advocate an explicit invitation for a once-a-year pot-smoking frenzy. Rather, we hope the city would just stop worrying so much about it.

By making a fuss about trying to stop the inevitable, the city looks ridiculous and ineffective.

The annual 4/20 event in Denver’s Civic Center draws thousands of people who light up joints simultaneously at 4:20 p.m.

The event is a celebration of weed and a protest of federal laws.

Denver Police Chief Robert White says it would be impossible to cite 60,000 people for violating pot consumption laws, but said he is meeting with officials to develop a plan.

Some council members want to ban the event altogether. But parks officials say they can’t do that.

The best thing is to have a police presence, make sure no serious crimes are committed and hold the organizers responsible for damages.

Other than that, don’t worry about it.