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| Celebrating The Leaf |
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Posted by FoM on April 24, 2002 at 08:19:21 PT By Maggie FitzRoy, Shorelines Correspondent Source: Florida Times-Union 
Undercover police officers arrested 18 people Saturday during the Jacksonville Hempfest, a festival espousing the legalization of marijuana, at the SeaWalk Pavilion in Jacksonville Beach.Ten people were charged with possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana, Jacksonville Beach police said. Officers arrested the people in the festival area after observing them "with what appeared to be marijuana cigarettes," police said. The other eight people were charged with drinking in public. To casual observers, the event looked like a typical beach festival at the SeaWalk Pavilion -- music, merriment and meandering spectators. But it was a festival with a cause -- the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Event organizers Scott Bledsoe and Mike Johnson of the Cannabis Action Network said they were pleased. About 1,000 people attended, and the organizers' message was enthusiastically received. "We want to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, so doctors can prescribe it," said Johnson, wearing a large marijuana leaf lei around his neck and a matching bandana around his head. "This is not for recreational use, although a lot of people think that." Hempfest was at Hemming Plaza in downtown Jacksonville last year, and at Metropolitan Park the year before. Johnson said this year's location was better "because a lot of people don't know about the event and they run into it coming to the beach." Jacksonville Beach was the original site of the Jacksonville Hempfest, beginning in 1998. Bledsoe, Kevin Aplin and the Cannabis Action Network sued Jacksonville Beach in 1998, claiming that its special events policy, which included a permitting requirement for "family oriented" events that encouraged attendance by families, children and senior citizens, violated their free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger ordered a permanent injunction, saying that the city's policy created a chilling effect on free speech rights. The city since has revised its special events policy so that it's "content neutral" about the type of events held. On Saturday, most participants were college-age, many dressed in bathing suits and drinking beer. But they were clear about why they were there. Periodically, between band performances, Bledsoe made speeches about why marijuana should be legalized and the beach blanket crowd on the green in front of the stage cheered him on. "I think they need to bring it [marijuana use] more in the open," said Amy Huffman, 19, of Jacksonville Beach. "Alcohol was also thought of as illegal at one time." Not everyone there was college-age. Russ Marshall, 77, of Jacksonville sat under a palm tree on a cooler, listening to the music. He appreciated the entertainment but had mixed feelings about the message. "It [marijuana] distorts your mind," he said. "I don't want anything that can hurt somebody. This can. But in some cases, it can help someone who's ill. You got to think both ways." Many spectators visited vendors selling tie-dyed T-shirts, hemp jewelry, pro marijuana bumper stickers and hand-blown glass pipes. John DuRocher, a vendor from Orlando, said he was impressed with the turnout. "I've been to a bunch of Hempfests in Oregon," he said, adding that as many as 7,000 people would turn out for a three-day event. "It's more liberal out there, more open use." Staff writer Caren Burmeister contributed to this report. Note: Hempfest arrests total 18. Source: Florida Times-Union (FL) Related Articles & Web Site: Cannabis Action Network Hemming Event Rallies Marijuana Support Activist Arrested Outside Bush Rally Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #4 posted by project419 on April 26, 2002 at 10:22:35 PT |
| Why the fuck only legalize it for medicinal use only?...I want pot to...I shouldn't be turned down pot because I don't have cancer....we all live in a sick world...and im sick at heart so give me my fucking weed!!! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by Lehder on April 25, 2002 at 08:28:29 PT |
| I totally agree, Jose, and there are a great many ways to hamper the persecutions. The recent mj/music festival somewhere in New England for which $55,000 was spent in keeping the event drug-free is a good example. I'd like to see a lot more events advertised as promoting relegalization so as to draw out the authorities and force the extravagant expenditure of money. Hundreds could be arrested for holding what turn out to be your sage cigarettes. There are many other legal ways for both groups and individuals to throw sand into the machine. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on April 25, 2002 at 08:19:57 PT:
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| Officers arrested the people in the festival area after observing them "with what appeared to be marijuana cigarettes," police said.
That's it. I'm going to start giving away and maybe even selling hand rolled sage cigarettes. Screw their drug war, let's make them go fight real crime by hitting them where it hurts - by clogging the system until they can no longer afford to continue this fraud. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on April 24, 2002 at 14:47:22 PT |
| >>"We want to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, so doctors can prescribe it," said Johnson, wearing a large marijuana leaf lei around his neck and a matching bandana around his head. "This is not for recreational use, although a lot of people think that."<< Wasn't it Dr. Lester Grinspoon who said that the full medical value of cannabis will not be available to everyone until it is completely legalized? Look at Canada - they're instigating stall tactics in the face of a court order. Compare that to Holland, whose "medical marijuana" policy is merely a logical extension of the Dutch system. [ Post Comment ] |
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