By Eric Gorski The Denver Post

Sunday, April 20, 2014 – 5:39 p.m.

People smoke pot as the clock strikes 4:20 during the 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado on April 20, 2014. ( Seth McConnell, The Denver Post )
In the vast outdoor weed fair that is part of the High Times Cannabis Cup, Cat Jordan of Colorado Springs walks among the stalls, cradling her new water pipe.

The pipe has a pink bowl piece and an illustration of a dragon. It set her back $20, “a good price,” she says. Jordan, a 22-year-old waitress, is among friends — thousands of them.

“It’s just nice to see for yourself how many of us smoke,” Jordan said, techno music blaring and the sun beating down midday Sunday. “It’s obviously important to a lot of people’s lives.”

That much was obvious at the sold-out event at the Denver Merchandise Mart, which featured as the main draw an outdoor expo in the parking lot where marijuana companies offered samples to anyone 21 or over, or those 18 and over carrying valid Colorado medical marijuana cards.

“We’re just trying to make everyone happy,” said Ryan Luck, an assistant manager at the Medicine Man in Denver, which was handing out hits from marijuana strains it had entered in the competition that gives the event its name. “People are looking out for each other. It’s a community. We’re trying to keep it positive.”

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Women in purple wigs handed out purple kush. Stalls sold “Legalized It” T-shirt in the color scheme of the Colorado flag. Vape pens — a method for consuming marijuana without smoking it — were as prevalent as cell phones.

The tremendous amount of marijuana being consumed begged the question: How much is too much? Jordan said as a general rule, she slows down when she starts to get very tired.

She said she had sampled about 10 dabs, a concentrated form of marijuana that is extremely potent. She “got excited” and tried too much early, then slowed down, she said. Marijuana, she said, helps with her anxiety and is safer than prescription drugs.

If those in attendance did overindulge, four ambulances sat parked on a side street just outside the southwest exit.

Estimated 125,000 turn out for two-day 4/20 rally in Civic Center

Billy Rahn- 03/03/2015 (As Seen on Leafly)

Yesterday, Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) filed a bill that would bring an end to cannabis prohibition in Texas by striking all references to marijuana in the state’s statutes. The bill, which would regulate marijuana “like tomatoes, jalapeños, or coffee,” resonates with Republican ideals of minimal government and personal responsibility, and was appropriately introduced on Texas Independence Day. The bill could go into effect as soon as September 1, 2015.

“Current marijuana policies are not based on science or sound evidence, but rather misinformation and fear,” Rep. Simpson said. “All that God created is good, including marijuana.”

Yep, Simpson’s anti-prohibition alignment stems partly from his religious beliefs, a perspective published yesterday in an article titled “The Christian case for drug law reform.” Here, Simpson questions the moral basis of cannabis prohibition, demonstrating a capacity for compassion and humanitarianism rarely seen among politicians in the marijuana debate.

“Let’s allow the plant to be utilized for good—helping people with seizures, treating warriors with PTSD, producing fiber and other products—or simply for beauty and enjoyment,” Simpson said. “Government prohibition should be for violent actions that harm your neighbor—not of the possession, cultivation, and responsible use of plants.”

www.HighTimes.com link

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www.cnn.com link

Marijuana’s D.C. landslide
In November, 70 percent of voters approved Initiative 71 to legalize marijuana. It takes effect Thursday, Feb. 26. The initiative passed in every precinct except one, where it failed by only nine votes. (Washington Post, By John Woodrow Cox February 28 at 2:05 PM)