Marijuana.com

Lothar121

14th Seattle Hempfest Draws 150,000 -- No Arrests
Drug War Chronicle | Staticfiends.com | 08/26/2005

The nation's largest annual marijuana protest/festival has come and gone, again drawing record crowds and notably recording no arrests of any kind. The now venerable two-day Seattle Hempfest drew as many as 150,000 devotees of the herb to waterfront Myrtle Edwards park for music and political speeches blaring from multiple stages, not to mention a magical mile of glass pipes and bongs, hempy wares of all sorts, and the tables and booths of numerous political and social groups.

"The world's phattest protestival" featured numerous marijuana reform movement luminaries as well as friendly Washington state politicians, including Seattle city council member Nick Licata, state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells, NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre, and recent Supreme Court plaintiff Angel Raich.

In the Raich case, the court upheld the federal government's right to prosecute medical marijuana patients and providers even in states where it is legal. Since Washington is one of those states, the issue resonated strongly in Seattle. "This war is far from over. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep fighting until there's no fight left," Raich told a large center-stage crowd.

With the slogan "Don't Just Burn It, Learn It!" this year's Hempfest had an educational theme, with the "Hemposium" featuring exhibits, panels, and presentations on industrial hemp for food, fiber, and fuel, as well as presentations on medical marijuana and the health benefits of cannabinoids. That's in addition to the more than 90 speakers who addressed the multitudes over the two-day period.

Chris Mulligan of DRCNet got a few moments on center stage, appearing right after headlining band Fishbone -- using them in part to pitch the work of the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform to repeal a law taking financial aid away from college because of drug convictions. "After leaving here today, if 150,000 people start telling Congress we're sick of them holding education funding hostage to drug war politics, things will change," Mulligan told the crowd before leading them into a chant-and-response "No More"..."Drug War." It was cheesy, Mulligan told DRCNet, "but you just have to do that when there are 150,000 people in front of you."

DRCNet associate director David Guard also addressed the crowds, although he didn't get center-stage. "This is as much a festival as a protest," he said after the event. "Maybe 10% of the people who come to this really care about the politics. But when it's 150,000 people, that comes out to a lot of people we want to reach." In addition to speaking, Guard reached the crowd through the booth DRCNet shared with Flex Your Rights, whose uniformed and sun-glassed Officer Friendly (Flex Your Rights executive director Steve Silverman) was a constant draw for curious passers-by.

In its 14th year, Seattle Hempfest is a smooth-running, well-oiled, cannabis-fueled machine that is the most public manifestation of Seattle's cutting edge position on drug policy reform. And it happens without problems. "This is a successful social experiment in legalizing marijuana, and it works," said Mulligan. "All those people, and there were no arrests, no fights, not one crime worth busting," he marveled.

It's not that pot-smoking wasn't present or that the Seattle police weren't present. They were on-scene, but appropriately laid-back. "Marijuana enforcement is one of our lowest priorities," said Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb. "Keeping the public safe is our No. 1 mission at Hempfest," he told the Seattle Times.

__________________

Donate. Write. Make a difference.. Posting Guidelines | Marijuana Policy Project | NORML | DPA | Drug WarRant | Media Awareness Project

 

Logos

Man how I wish I could have attended this years festival.

I really enjoyed reading that last paragraph. It's nice to know that the cops in Seattle are taking their role seriously. Public safety is their top priority, and it's really rare for a person who is stoned to put the public safety at risk.

It happens, but hey, non stoned put public safety at risk sometimes.

Hopefully next year I'll be a non farmer with free time and able to attend.

Not one arrest, that just blows my mind...

__________________
Brother Logos
The more I learn, the less I know. | Truth doesn't change, only our perception of it does.
THC Ministry | The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ | The Reluctant Messenger of Science and Religion
True religion is real living, living with all one's soul, with all ones goodness and righteousness. --Albert Einstein

SkyTripper

The thing about this annual festival that really gets me is that despite the fact no arrests were made.....DON'T think for a minute that the cops wouldn't LOVE to arrest these people if they weren't outnumbered and could just corner them into a one-on-one situation.
These cops aren't going to start making arrests when there are sooo many people in one location UNITED together for this event when they know it won't do any good to do so and possibly help create a scene of chaos and anarchy which could result in property damage and countless injuries.......it AIN'T WORTH IT!
But the sad fact that these participants are fair game for arrest once they no longer have their strength in numbers is what really SUX!
And in Washington......arrest and conviction for pot possession of ANY amount.....IS a MANDATORY minimum of 24 hours in jail!
I only wish this Seattle Hempfest would draw a LOT MORE people (in excess of 1 MILLION), from ALL over the US and last for at least a month!
A pro-marijuana festival that could pull this off....WOULD SEND A HUGE MESSAGE to the Government......OR.....the government would feel too much pressure from the prohibitionist groups and feel the need to drop a bomb on the crowd......proving to America just how serious of a "war" the "War on Drugs" is.

__________________
SkyTripper

reggie_the_dog

the official policy of the seattle police now is that writing parking tickets is far more important than busting people for possession/use of cannabis. Seattle police really do not want to waste their time and clog up their jails by busting someone and then putting them in jail for their mandatory 24 hours as required by state law.

sidenote: I was there this summer and saw people openly smoking downtown.