It's 4/20 — Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

UCSC warned parents of date with hazy meaning

Don't let your kids party on April 20th.

That's the message campus leaders sent out to parents of first-year students of UC Santa Cruz.

The head party pooper, Felicia McGinty, vice-chancellor of student affairs, sent an e-mail to inboxes of UC Santa Cruz freshman parents earlier this month, advising them that "4-20" is an age-old code for marijuana-laced festivities.

 "I encourage you to talk with your student about his or her plans for 4/20. Ask direct questions about the choices they make and express your expectations regarding marijuana, alcohol or other drug use. Although students may not initiate discussion on this topic, your opinions and expectations can influence their behavior,"  wrote McGinty, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

UCSC's annual "impromptu" event draws thousands to the school's Porter Meadow on April 20 at 4:20 p.m. to eat, inhale or otherwise intake cannabis.

And marijuana festivals are not strictly a Santa Cruz event -- with college campuses across the country will be observing the day. But, in recent years, UCSC's pot party has grown, well, like a weed.

But it's not the kind of attention McGinty wants to draw to the Banana Slugs.

"The growth in scale of this activity has become a concern for both the University and surrounding community," McGinty's letter explains, "with many of the participants being visitors with no investment in our UCSC community."

Apparently, the attendees don't spend enough money on munchies to make an impact on the city's economy.

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