Giant Joint Confiscated by UC Santa Cruz Police on 4/20 Celebration; Two Arrested

The annual 4/20 marijuana celebration at UCSC Saturday was smaller than usual, but resulted in two arrests and around 50 citations, according to campus spokesman Jim Burns.

One man was arrested for possession of a giant joint filled with two pounds of weed. That was Gennady Tsarinsky, 25, a UCSC student.

A second man was arrested for disorderly conduct after he had a bad reaction to a drug and became belligerent with officers trying to help him. After being taken to Dominican Hospital, the arrest was downgraded to a detention with no charges filed.

UCSC Police brought in officers from other campuses to monitor the annual smoke-out day at a cost of $40,000. Attendance was down, officials said.

"It's hard to say that an event which drew thousands of people was smaller than it has been in the past, but it was," said Burns. "We still ended up spending money we don't have on something we wish didn't take place."

Burns said that while officers didn't arrest people for smoking in Porter Meadow, they did cite people seen smoking around the campus. Other violations included parking in handicapped spaces and illegal parking in other places.