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Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

City Okays Pot Event

Erin Rosa over at Colo Con has this piece on the 4/20 event for this year.
The Denver Parks and Recreation Department has recently approved a park permit for an event celebrating marijuana. Colorado Confidential has learned that pot proponents are planning an organized festival in Denver's Sunken Gardens Park on April 20, the first such "4-20" event to be sanctioned by city. Miguel Lopez, an advocate for Chicano and marijuana legalization issues in Denver, applied for the permit and says that the planned event will feature myriad speakers and eclectic music.

"4-20" is a day traditionally celebrated by pot supporters as a day to smoke marijuana, sometimes in public as an action of civil disobedience. On the same date last year, a crowed gathered in Denver's Civic Center Park in front of the state capitol building to smoke and pay tribute to Ken Gorman, a marijuana activist who led previous "4-20" rallies. Gorman was found murdered in his home on February 17, 2007.

Lopez knew Gorman and says they were planning to submit a permit making "4-20" an official event before his death.

"It was a devastating blow to me," says Lopez, about Gorman's murder. "We were excited to plan the first official event."

Now the Denver Parks and Recreation Department has approved a permit for the festival, and Lopez says other technical issues like bathrooms and trash receptacles are being planned now. Denver permits are usually given on a first-come, first-served basis, although a new proposal could change city law to give the government "first dibs" on picking permits.

When asked if he's worried about police arresting event attendees, Lopez says that he's not going to rule out people smoking marijuana at the event as an act of "civil disobedience," but Lopez also notes that he will be strongly discouraging youths under the age of 18 from attending the event.

The Denver Parks and Recreation Department was closed today, and representatives could not be reached for comment at this time

Colorado Confidential