Thousands are expected to attend the 4-20 marijuana smoke-in at Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Sunset Beach Friday, and while the legalization goal of the annual Weed Day will soon be met, an event organizer says there is much more to protest.

This yearsa国际传媒檚 event also features a unique wrinkle for organizers, police, and parents: professional development days are scheduled Friday for three Metro Vancouver school districts, meaning thousands of children wonsa国际传媒檛 be in class.

Dana Larsen, the organizer of 4-20 Vancouver, says the annual sa国际传媒渟moke-inssa国际传媒� will continue until all their goals are met. Larsen says he believes cannabis users are still discriminated against, despite the approaching legalization.

sa国际传媒淚 wouldnsa国际传媒檛 say wesa国际传媒檙e above the law. Isa国际传媒檇 say wesa国际传媒檙e under the law, in that cannabis users are unjustly punished by the law, and imprisoned, and treated poorly, and lose our jobs, and our children, and have other negative things happen because we choose to use cannabis, often instead of using alcohol.sa国际传媒�

Larsen says organizers have met with the citysa国际传媒檚 police and fire departments, sanitation, ambulance services, and park rangers about Fridaysa国际传媒檚 rally, and will sa国际传媒漚ct as if they have a special-events permitsa国际传媒� from the park board.

Vancouversa国际传媒檚 park board issued a statement Tuesday, saying the protest is taking place against its wishes.

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The statement says the board is working sa国际传媒渢o encourage organizers to find an alternate location for the event in future years.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淭he park board does not believe this event is an appropriate use of park space because it violates our no-smoking bylaws and has negative consequences for park users and infrastructure.sa国际传媒�

Last year, tens of thousands of people showed up to the beach-side event and left the fields a muddy mess.

The protest cost the city about $245,000 for issues such as policing and replacing the turf.

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sa国际传媒淧ark Rangers have gone door to door in the vicinity of Sunset Beach to hand deliver leaflets outlining plans for the event and to inform residents of significant crowds, traffic impacts and potential health concerns to those with sensitivity to smoke,sa国际传媒� the park board says in a release.

Most schools in Delta, Coquitlam, and North Vancouver will be closed Friday.

Jen Hill, communications manager at the Delta School District, says they generally hold a professional development day on the third Friday of April, coming off the Easter holiday, and it has fallen on April 20 before.

Chris Atkinson, assistant superintendent of the North Vancouver School District, says itsa国际传媒檚 merely a coincidence the non-instructional day fell on 4-20 and hesa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒漵urprised this was a story at all.sa国际传媒�

Hill, Atkinson and Larsen note that April 20 falls on a Saturday next year, and students would not be in school then either.

Vancouver police Sgt. Jason Robillard confirms the force is working with 4-20 organizers and booth operators this year, and will deploy a special detachment that manages policing around public events and protests.

He says it wasnsa国际传媒檛 the departmentsa国际传媒檚 position to comment on any decisions made by school boards, especially those outside of their jurisdiction, but says police are prepared for young attendees.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l look at all the possibilities, and if the event requires any additional attention during the time of the event thatsa国际传媒檚 happening, we are prepared and can adjust our resources sa国际传媒� as necessary. So if that means we need to look at enforcing laws surrounding selling to minors and things like that, that will be a game-time decision and we can adjust our resources as necessary.sa国际传媒�

Larson says anyone caught selling products to minors will face serious consequences, including removal and a future ban from the event, along with any separate police action.

The history of sa国际传媒�4-20sa国际传媒� is foggy, though most agree it was started when a group of high school students in California met at 4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana.

This will be the 24th instalment of Vancouversa国际传媒檚 annual protest, and Larsen says he expects it to be the biggest rally theysa国际传媒檝e put on yet, with peak crowds of up to 60,000 people expected at Sunset Beach.

Spencer Harwood, The Canadian Press

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