US: Hempfest to Bake Up Ideas About Drug Policy Reform

[Medical Marijuana]

For many students, there is more to hemp and the Ohio Hempfest than just the negative connotations surrounding it.

"It's meant to just open people's eyes up to the fact that the use of hemp and any like products is not the evil thing that it's portrayed as being," said Students for Sensible Drug Policy vice president Zach Laver, a sophomore in plant biology.

Ohio State's SSDP group is holding the 22nd annual Hempfest May 17 on the South Oval, which is focused on educating the public about drug policy. The tradition has grown larger every year, with 6,000 attendees in 2007 and at least 8,000 anticipated this year.

SSDP members said they hope the festival will raise awareness and dialogue about drug use and dispel the concerns about it. Establishing a drug policy is a top priority for the organization and its members. While the subject matter might be controversial, organizers said the event is a great way to get information out to students in a safe environment.

"We'd like people to just start talking, cooking up ideas about ways to change around and reform drug policy so that it makes more sense," said SSDP member Brandon Edwards, a freshman in business and film studies.

This year's theme will be "Jail is not the Answer." Zach Germaniuk, SSDP president and a junior in English, said organizing the event around a theme will allow it to address a specific area that needs to be changed, adding that he thinks drug users should be helped, not locked up.

"It's not the answer to dealing with drugs," Germaniuk said. "It hasn't been working for the last 30 years and it's hurting America's economy and it's hurting our communities."

SSDP members will be passing out journals at the event to help convey their message. The journals will carry articles from national columnists and writers, and pieces of submitted literature and artwork. Pamphlets with more information will also be available, including contact information for legal counsel and voter registration forms.

"Hopefully it inspires them to become active citizens, take part in the political life of their community," Germaniuk said. "That's really the end goal of Hempfest - to get students involved on campus."

Aside from educating the public, Hempfest will include live entertainment from local bands and musicians such as The Floorwalkers and Zachary Allen Starkey. There will also be speakers addressing drug policies, including law enforcement officials against drug prohibition.

Although the event has run into problems in the past that have almost led to cancellations, Hempfest is moving forward this year in compliance with OSU policy and with the support of the Undergraduate Student Government.

"The people that have been to this festival have seen that it is essentially a vehicle to get information to students," Germaniuk said.

A bill passed through USG gave SSDP $3,000 to help pay for the police who will be watching over the event. The rest of the funding will come from vendors setting up shop at the festival and from various fundraisers and raffles.

"At a campus the size of Ohio State, you have to make everything a spectacle (to get information out)," Germaniuk said. "If it takes a festival to do that, so be it."

With so much to learn and talk about, Germaniuk said he hopes people will keep an open mind with regard to the issues. While SSDP understands the reluctance to embrace the message, it will continue to spread the word on drug policy through the Hempfest tradition.

"It's not a black and white (issue)," said SSDP campus director Edison Franklin, a junior in environmental policy and management. "And there are many diverse viewpoints to consider."

Source: Lantern, The (OH Edu)
Copyright: 2008 The Lantern
Contact: lantern@osu.edu
Website: The Lantern