At least four DUI arrests were made on campus during this year’s unsanctioned 4/20 event. Two of these were non-UCSC-affiliated individuals arrested before 12 p.m. The other two were arrested at the California Highway Patrol DUI checkpoint, their affiliation with the university was unknown at the time of reporting.
Police officers also wrote dozens of citations for various reasons including possession of marijuana, smoking in no-smoking zones and distracted driving.
This year’s crowds were similar in size to previous years, but for a shorter amount of time. Attendance was estimated to be around 2,000 to 2,500 people, most whom arrived within the hour before 4:20 p.m.
UCSC Police Chief Nader Oweis credits the shorter duration of the event to heightened police presence for the day. About 100 officers from UC and local police departments patrolled campus, consistent with the past three years.
“The longer that people are out there smoking marijuana, partying and drinking and waiting until 4:20 those were all the years that we had the medical aids and the fights […],” Oweis said. “So, by really doing all of our enforcement methods, I think we’ve lowered the timeline by which people are out there and obviously reduced the number of medical aids and the number of fights.”
One medical aid call was made this year, compared to zero last year and one during the 2016 event.
City on a Hill Press will provide updates if more information becomes available.
