I don’t know why St. Patrick’s Day would be associated with marijuana, although for people in Boulder it’s probably just another excuse to go (sticky) green. Nevertheless, activists in Boulder are speaking out in hopes that the police will just ignore their transgressions this St. Paddy’s Day weekend. As the Rocky Mountain News reports:

The speakers at a gathering on the Pearl Street Mall called on Boulder police to issue no citations for marijuana use on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day, as a way of encouraging recreation that leads to less violence than alcohol does.

“I’ll come back to the dorm about 1 a.m. and there will be people screaming in the hallways, writing rude things on the wall, verbally abusing and sexually abusing other people,” University of Colorado sophomore Summer Weirich said, describing a typical scene when people have been drinking. “Guys try to wander in your room and see what you’re doing, see if they can hook up.”

Conversely, “If I’m around people who’ve been smoking marijuana, I’m not afraid they’re going to trap me somewhere.”

Boulder police did not immediately respond to questions about the appeal to issue no marijuana-possession citations.

Um, yeah.

I’m in favor of legalizing marijuana because I think it’s silly to waste money, police resources and jail beds for people who smoke pot. But just because I disagree with the law doesn’t mean it’s not the law, and it’s completely absurd that activists would publicly call on law enforcement officials to just look the other way.

You hear these same arguments on a number of issues, and they are always wrong. Activists get upset with prosecutors for seeking the death penalty…but it’s the law. Activists in the South get upset that they can’t post the Ten Commandments on courthouse property…but it’s the law.

If you don’t like a particular law, then you should work to get it changed. But asking public officials to just pretend the law doesn’t exist is silly and wrong.