Thousands gather for informal pot celebration in Denver

DENVER — Thousands of people filled a park here Wednesday afternoon for the annual observance of the cannabis holiday 4/20, but it was a smaller crowd than in years past.

A formal rally originally scheduled for Saturday was postponed because of a snowstorm. The event was expected to draw tens of thousands of people, and feature food trucks and performances by Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa.

Not quite that many people gathered at Civic Center Park park for Wednesday’s informal celebration, but there was still a large crowd that let out a raucous cheer when the clock hit 4:20 p.m.

Public consumption remains illegal under the state’s recreational pot law, which was passed in 2012, but police mostly looked on as a cloud of marijuana smoke rose above the crowd.

Fans of the drug have long marked April 20 as a day to enjoy pot — especially at 4:20 p.m. — and to call for increased legal access to it. Some say it was once police code in Southern California to denote marijuana use, probably an urban legend. It was a title number for a 2003 California bill about medical marijuana, a fully intended coincidence.

Contributing: The Associated Press