A few dozen people took to Johnston Green late Friday afternoon to smoke marijuana for 420 — an annual event marked on the twentieth day of the fourth month. This 420 is expected to be the last time it is criminal to do so.
Far fewer turned out this year than in some years previous, many at the event said. Some cited the cold weather, the snow and mud on Johnson Green or the fact cannabis is expected to be legalized for recreational use later this year.
420 remains an act of defiance of the law and many at Friday’s event asked that their names not be used when approached by GuelphToday.
“It’s a form of protest, but the protests are over now because is becoming legal,” said one man, who is in his mid-40s.
He recalled there being a sea of people filling up Johnston Green on this date most years, all lighting up together to partake in a substance that is expected to be legally sold in government-run stores in Ontario later this year.
“There was a band playing one year,” he recalled through the haze of smoke from his oversized joint.
Last year, the event was essentially rained out and was attended by very few people.
There was no visible police presence at Friday’s ad hoc celebration, which occurred at the U of G campus at exactly 4:20 p.m.
Friday’s event U of G was one of many concurrenty held across the country, including a large gathering at Parliament Hill.
Recently, the government of Ontario revealed the location of the first cannabis retail store in Guelph.
At Johnston Green, many revellers passed around joints large and small, while some others chose to use bongs or other devices to smoke.
One oversized joint was about two feet long before it was lit and shared in a circle of about a dozen people, most of whom appeared to be in their 20s.
One man in the group said he expects people to continue to get together to smoke on 420, even once legalization is complete.
Some people who have chosen to celebrate 420 in their homes over the years may be compelled to come out once weed is legal, he said.
“And there’s going to be a lot wider range of people, because more people are going to do it,” he said.
“There’s still going to be that stoner culture there, though” interjected another man.
