Hey man, like, What Happened to the Smoke Out?

Every April 20 at the University of Colorado at Boulder, ten thousand visitors descend on the Norlin Quad to join the many thousands of students who live there for a day of civil disobedience. They light up joints, fill bowls full of weed, and flaunt their right to get high, en masse.

But this year is different. Fed up with the gridlock that has ensued over the years with that many people crammed into the space of the quad, officials have proposed a new solution–closing the entire campus down for the whole day. To make it even more difficult for tokers to linger, they are planning to coat Norlin’s grass with a mixture of stinky fish fertilizer that would make anyone hesitate before plopping down for a smoke.

The ACLU is unhappy, issuing statements about a loss of liberty, claim that anyone with a tie dyed shirt would be singled out, and those with coats and ties would not. Anyone who does manage to sneak on the campus without their official ID would be hit with a fine of $750, which is way higher than the penalty for lighting up a joint and getting caught.

One consolation–the student concert promoter’s have spent $150,000 and are bringing in Wyclef Jean to play a concert at the Coors Events Center. And there will be plenty of ganja smoking there.