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The Event Returns After an 11-Year Absence, and a Few Hundred Show Up to Watch.
The revival of Gainesville's Hemp Fest - a celebration of the many uses of the hemp plant - may have attracted a smaller crowd Saturday than in the past, but organizers believe they are closer than ever to their goal of at least limited legalization of marijuana.
Hemp Fest was held at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza in downtown Gainesville on Saturday after an 11-year absence, drawing a modest crowd for music, speeches and booths of vendors and organizations.
Since the last Hemp Fest, several states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, and supporters will try again in the 2012 Florida legislative session to get passage of a bill allowing that here, said David McKinney of the Florida Cannabis Action Network.
"We have some political connections and we've reached the 50 percent mark of national approval of legalization," McKinney said. "The real strong push is not just the idea of legalization but the idea that there are people who need this as medicine."
"We are hampering research and at the same time denying people what we know to be good medicine," McKinney continued. "We've got support from the Democratic Women's Club of Florida and we have support from some folks in the Florida Legislature for medical marijuana, who have introduced a bill. I think it's going to be a huge election issue."
Hemp Fest was once an annual event that drew crowds of about 1,000 and once featured a "doobie toss" of marijuana cigarettes into the crowd.
Saturday's relaunch drew a few hundred people throughout the afternoon. Some brought living room furniture, while others pitched a big teepee. Many wore leis of fake hemp leaves.
None of the vendors had much in the way of hemp jewelry, clothing or other products, but Terry Enriques and Mike Cardinal had the spirit with plenty of tie-dyed T-shirts and reggae-colored dreadlock stocking caps and bags.
"I'm trying to make some money. It's hard times now," Enriques said.
Added Cardinal, "Hemp should be brought back because it would bring back a lot of farmers. It has a lot of uses and it could get a lot of farmers off the dole."
Hemp was brought to the U.S. for cultivation into fiber by the pilgrims and production grew as the country did, according to Oregon State University.
In 1937, the U.S. government passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which placed it under control of U.S. Treasury Department regulations. Production of hemp gradually faded in the U.S. after that.
Mike Geison, one of the organizers of the original Hemp Fest, said he believes marijuana will eventually be legalized.
"Of course I'm delighted we have Hemp Fest again and I'm delighted to be here," Geison said. "I know who our allies are. I think we can achieve our goals in a short time."
Source: Gainesville Sun, The (FL)
Copyright: 2011 The Gainesville Sun
Contact: Submit your Letter | Gainesville.com
Website: Gainesville.com > Gainesville FL news, sports, weather and more | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun
The revival of Gainesville's Hemp Fest - a celebration of the many uses of the hemp plant - may have attracted a smaller crowd Saturday than in the past, but organizers believe they are closer than ever to their goal of at least limited legalization of marijuana.
Hemp Fest was held at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza in downtown Gainesville on Saturday after an 11-year absence, drawing a modest crowd for music, speeches and booths of vendors and organizations.
Since the last Hemp Fest, several states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, and supporters will try again in the 2012 Florida legislative session to get passage of a bill allowing that here, said David McKinney of the Florida Cannabis Action Network.
"We have some political connections and we've reached the 50 percent mark of national approval of legalization," McKinney said. "The real strong push is not just the idea of legalization but the idea that there are people who need this as medicine."
"We are hampering research and at the same time denying people what we know to be good medicine," McKinney continued. "We've got support from the Democratic Women's Club of Florida and we have support from some folks in the Florida Legislature for medical marijuana, who have introduced a bill. I think it's going to be a huge election issue."
Hemp Fest was once an annual event that drew crowds of about 1,000 and once featured a "doobie toss" of marijuana cigarettes into the crowd.
Saturday's relaunch drew a few hundred people throughout the afternoon. Some brought living room furniture, while others pitched a big teepee. Many wore leis of fake hemp leaves.
None of the vendors had much in the way of hemp jewelry, clothing or other products, but Terry Enriques and Mike Cardinal had the spirit with plenty of tie-dyed T-shirts and reggae-colored dreadlock stocking caps and bags.
"I'm trying to make some money. It's hard times now," Enriques said.
Added Cardinal, "Hemp should be brought back because it would bring back a lot of farmers. It has a lot of uses and it could get a lot of farmers off the dole."
Hemp was brought to the U.S. for cultivation into fiber by the pilgrims and production grew as the country did, according to Oregon State University.
In 1937, the U.S. government passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which placed it under control of U.S. Treasury Department regulations. Production of hemp gradually faded in the U.S. after that.
Mike Geison, one of the organizers of the original Hemp Fest, said he believes marijuana will eventually be legalized.
"Of course I'm delighted we have Hemp Fest again and I'm delighted to be here," Geison said. "I know who our allies are. I think we can achieve our goals in a short time."
Source: Gainesville Sun, The (FL)
Copyright: 2011 The Gainesville Sun
Contact: Submit your Letter | Gainesville.com
Website: Gainesville.com > Gainesville FL news, sports, weather and more | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun
