UCSC's Weed-Filled Field Day

In Biblical times, getting stoned in public was hardly something desirable. Times have changed, and Wednesday's UCSC 420 gathering was a perfect example.

April 20 nationally marks the annual gathering of large groups of loosely confederated youth who harken to public places near the local university and then wait around for 4:20 in the afternoon to burn marijuana and celebrate the herb.

UC Santa Cruz has one of the biggest celebrations in the country, with people heading to the campus from all over. This year's was estimated at 3,500, about half that of past years, due in large part to the cold weather.

It's possible this year's drop in attendance is because of a change in the popularity," said UCSC spokesman Jim Burns. "I don't know.” 

The atmosphere was festive. Drum circles pounded polyrhythms, and boom-boxes blared a full range of music, from dub-step to hip hop, and the quintessential marijuana music, reggae.

A wet, cold heavy mist soaked some smokers while others squatted inside make-shift teepees constructed from tarps and blankets. As 4:20 p.m. approached, the smoke formed a massive cumulus in the treetops.

Burns said he wished the clouds of smoke would appear somewhere else, and not just because this happens to be spring semester tour week, when parents and prospective students tour the UCSC campus.

University officials worried that many who attended 420 were not affiliated with the campus, and their sheer numbers exceed the volume the roads are designed to handle, said Burns. Actions taken by the university and campus police are aimed primarily at traffic and parking issues, he said.

Campus police tried to limit the attendance to the event by closing the west gate to the campus and altering bus routes during the peak of the festivities.

Burns said the campus police force bolstered its patrols with police from other UC campuses, including Davis, Berkeley and San Francisco. There were no arrests, but nearly 100 parking citations were issued.

A Laguna Beach family on a college visit didn't appear apprehensive about having their son go to the school, despite the haze.

They said they trusted their son to perform well academically, in spite of the marijuana culture, which pervades the campus. The son said he had no such plans to join the bong-hitting culture, while glancing nervously in his parents’ direction. They beamed proudly.

The event had no explicitly political vibe. There were very few signs about legalization. One event attendant named Matt (few wanted to give full names) seemed confidant that marijuana would soon be legal, pointing to the size of the crowd as evidence.

“It  should be legal for anyone, and not just medically, but for all those who enjoy it in all its aspects,” said Mike Porter, 42, a Santa Cruz resident for six years. Porter added that the event was a party, and that for him, politics did not play an important part.

Most attendants said the promise of a party involving copious amounts of weed drew them to the event. Many responded to questions with glassy stares and seemed to have trouble focusing.

Others went to the event with profit as their motivation. Everything from “milk and cookies,” (both weed laced) to “lemon brahs” (hash-infused lemon bars) along with a plethora of non-psychoactive cures for cottonmouth and the munchies—candy and soda—was sold at the event.

Not all snacks were for sale, however. Animal crackers and fruit circulated the crowd, offered gratis by anonymous philanthropic stoners.