You could see it hovering in the air for a block and smell it for two — pot smoke.

Yesterday thousands of people packed the open spaces around the Vancouver Art Gallery for the annual April 20 (420) cannabis celebration.

Vendors sold pipes and pot baking while police blocked traffic on Howe Street so the swelling crowds could spill onto the road.

As the clock ticked toward 4:20 p.m. people shouted the time like the countdown to New Year’s, and at the minute there was a collective, raucous cheer.

Pat, 22, who didn’t want his last name used, said Vancouverites should consider themselves lucky to be able to celebrate pot culture in public.

“It’s nice to sit in the sun in the middle of the city and smoke pot,” he said. “It’s a novelty (elsewhere) I guess.”

Amber Brown and Juniper Omoniyi, both 19 said they were expecting a more “chilled, music festival vibe.”

“It’s really crowded,” said Brown.

“It almost feels like a huge mosh pit,” added Omoniyi.

Vancouver’s best-known pot crusader, Marc Emery, was in the crowd handing out joints and said he was thrilled with the turnout.

“I just don’t want anything to happen since my name’s on the permit,” he said. “Ah, nothing’s going to happen. Everybody’s having a good time.”

Vancouver’s Prince of Pot, Marc Emery, and thousands of other marijuana proponents surround the Vancouver Art Gallery at 4:20 p.m. yesterday to celebrate their lifestyle. At its largest, the crowd swelled onto Howe Street, forcing police to close it to traffic.

2004 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana