More Than 10,000 Colorado University Students Celebrate 4/20:

"Nine, eight, seven ..."

A crowd of about 10,000 people collectively began counting down on the University of Colorado's Norlin Quadrangle just before 4:20 p.m. Sunday.

Yet the massive puff of pot smoke that hovers over CU's Boulder campus every April 20 -- the date of an annual, internationally recognized celebration of marijuana -- began rising over the sea of heads earlier than normal this year.

"Oh forget it," one student said, aborting the countdown to 4:20 p.m. and lighting his pipe early. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, long drag.

"Sweet."

Although it's become an annual and renowned event at CU, this year's 4/20 celebration was different in some ways than in many previous years: The crowd was so large it migrated from the long-traditional site of Farrand Field to the larger Norlin Quad; festivities kicked off earlier than normal with daytime concerts; and CU police handed out zero citations.

The fact that not one person was arrested is astounding to me. Sure, there are much more important things for the police to be focused on than a mass of college kids smoking pot but this is insane. What we have here is more than 10,000 people in open violation of the law. Whether or not that law is useful is certainly the cause of much debate but, regardless, it is currently a law. If those same 10,000 college students were openly drinking and driving, they would be arrested. Why should there be no punishment in this case? What is the lesson here, that if you do illegal activities in a large enough group you are immune to prosecution?