SEATTLE - Crowds of happy stoners bundled in winter coats are celebrating the anniversary of legal marijuana in Washington state by sparking up under Seattle's Space Needle.
Marijuana activist Ben Livingston says it took him three months to persuade city officials to grant him a permit for the party.
Friday's free event is in a haze-filled tent behind a double perimeter fence at Seattle Center, with the pot smoking blocked from public view.
The party is being held near Key Arena, where Pearl Jam is ending a North American tour. Livingston has extended an open invitation to the band's fans to swing by on their way to or from the show.