Global Ganja Report

Organizers failed to win an emergency temporary restraining order in Boulder District Court barring the University of Colorado from closing its Boulder campus to the public on April 20—the day of what has become an annual "420" cannabis smoke-in. Police showed up in force and even spread the campus' Norlin Quadrangle with foul-smelling fish fertilizer to keep tokers away from their intended gathering point. But a few hundred protesters defied the crackdown and rallied on another field—where many lit up at 4:20 PM.

It was a far cry from the 2011 420 celebration, when more than 10,000 gathered on the Norlin Quad for the annual ritual. In addition to banning unauthorized visitors from campus, the university even booked Haitian-born hip-hop star Wyclef Jean for a free concert timed to coincide with the 4:20 gathering.

Three protesters were arrested when they crossed police tape to enter the Norlin Quad, holding signs that read: "Have a happy 4/20/1984" and "A violation of 1st Amendment, the right to peaceably assemble." The 1984 slogan was a reference to the George Orwell novel that depicts a totalitarian future in which freedom is completely suppressed. (AP, April 21; Reuters, CNN, April 20; Toke of the Town, April 19)

Photo: Last year's 420 fest from Slumz.boxden.com