Don't go potty: Police urge Denver stoners to be cool

It has been just over 12 months since the US state of Colorado legalised recreational marijuana use, and how times have changed.

Two years ago a public gathering of more than 100,000 unabashed pot smokers would have sent alarm bells ringing in the Colorado Police Department.

This year they were getting in on the party though, reminding a collection of cannabis connoisseurs to chill out as they celebrated their new annual holiday on April 20 (or 4/20 in the American style)

Officers at the department made a social media splash with their light-hearted reminder for the public to take it easy and to put safety first on their big day.

Drawing on lyrics from Chamillionaire’s 2007 Grammy winning song Ridin, the tweet was aimed at a group planning to assemble at Denver's Civic Center Park for their annual 4/20 rally, held in honour of their drug of choice and to celebrate the newfound liberty enjoyed by its fans in the US state.

While recreational marijuana use is legal in Colorado, public recreational marijuana use is not. That fact proved a problem for about 160 attendees at the rally who still found themselves on the receiving end of fines.

But their citations were not without due warning. Not once but four times did Colorado’s police force take to social media to remind revelers and activists to take it easy and respect the law.

With more than 125,000 estimated to have attended the rally, which continued all weekend, police have been hailed by many for their easy going approach to the event.

While officers were on duty, police chiefs told reporters they had only targeted people who had shamelessly flouted laws against public consumption.

For reasons largely lost to history, many marijuana users world-wide have adopted the 4:20, 420 or 4/20 (always pronounced four-twenty) code word to attach themselves to cannabis culture.

While many explanations have been put forward for the adoption of the term, the most popular credits a group of high schoolers in the 1970s with its creation.

In the US April 20, styled 4/20 in American shorthand, has become a de facto holiday for many although no one has ever decisively linked the date to any major event

Four twenty festivals have become an increasingly common sight in the US in recent years and decades as proponents of legalisation of the drug use the date as a rallying cry for those who want to see laws relaxed.

National news break – April 21