cannabisnews.com: Pro-Pot Initiative Gets Political Push at Hempfest Pro-Pot Initiative Gets Political Push at Hempfest Posted by CN Staff on August 18, 2003 at 08:02:42 PT By Kathy George Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Hempfest, the nation's largest annual festival promoting liberalization of marijuana laws, drew tens of thousands to the waterfront yesterday and Saturday -- reaffirming Seattle's reputation as a pot-friendly place."It's a welcoming city," Mikki Norris of the California-based Cannabis Consumers Campaign said yesterday, addressing the ultimate laid-back crowd -- men and women lying comfortably on Asian rugs and pillows under a giant tent made of hemp. For two days, the politics of pot pervaded Myrtle Edwards Park, demonstrating a momentum that most politicians can only dream of.For example, Hempfest director Dominic Holden estimated that a record 175,000 to 200,000 showed up for the weekend event advocating the legalization of "responsible" marijuana use. Even Bill Clinton at the height of his popularity drew only 15,000 people to a Seattle rally in 1992.But will Hempfest's faithful hordes prove their potency at the ballot box?Seattle will find out Sept. 18, when city voters decide Initiative 75.The measure would direct police officers and prosecutors to treat the personal use of marijuana by adults as the city's "lowest law enforcement priority."Much of the city's liberal establishment is backing the initiative, touted as a way of protecting scarce tax money to fight serious crimes and to provide such basic services as parks, libraries and homeless shelters.Democratic Party organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, the League of Women Voters of Seattle, the King County Bar Association and City Council members Nick Licata, Judy Nicastro and Heidi Wills are among those endorsing the measure.There is no organized opposition, but City Attorney Tom Carr signed a voters pamphlet statement against the measure. He said in an interview that Initiative 75 would put him in a difficult position because, as city attorney, he must defend voter-approved city laws but also must enforce the state's marijuana laws.Carr said his office has not analyzed the legality of Initiative 75, but he doesn't expect a direct challenge to it.Rather, its validity is more likely to be tested in the context of individual criminal cases, in which defense lawyers will argue that their clients can't be prosecuted because it would violate the "lowest priority" rule, Carr said.It's an open question how lawyers would prove that marijuana use is, or is not, the city's lowest priority, he added.As it is, only 150 of the 16,000 cases handled by Carr's office last year involved personal use of marijuana, he said."Obviously, we do not make marijuana prosecution our top priority. We have no plans to undertake a massive marijuana enforcement scheme," he said. Yesterday, activist Meril Draper was one of the speakers urging the crowd to support Initiative 75. Praising Seattle police for cooperating with Hempfest, Draper said: "They are here to help us, not to bust us ... They have a job to do. We are here to change that job."The festival wasn't all politics. Dozens of vendors sold the usual hemp products -- including brownies, soap and sandals -- as well as tie-dyed shirts, incense, drums and other merchandise reminiscent of Grateful Dead shows.Some people came for the hot bands, including Genus, a rap trio commanding a rapt audience as it wailed, "Higher than cocaine, higher than weed, higher than methamphetamine or Ecstasy ... Don't be afraid to fly. We can touch the sky."The fact that Hempfest attracted its largest-ever turnout this year reflects "a clear recognition on behalf of Americans that the drug war has failed," said Holden, the festival director.Holden added that Hempfest registered "a lot of voters" over the weekend. The crowd, however, was primarily under 40, an age group never known for voting en masse, he acknowledged.Last year Nevada voters rejected a marijuana legalization measure despite wide support among the young. The Bush administration campaigned against it.Adam Eidinger of Vote Hemp, who came from Washington, D.C., to enlist supporters at Hempfest, said Seattle's annual festival is the largest "open, pro-pot event" in the world."Politicians generally still marginalize us," he said. "But they can't do it for long. Our numbers are too great."Complete Title: Pro-Pot Initiative Gets Political Push at High-Flying HempfestSource: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)Author: Kathy George, Seattle Post-Intelligencer ReporterPublished: Monday, August 18, 2003Copyright: 2003 Seattle Post-IntelligencerContact: editpage seattle-pi.comWebsite: http://www.seattle-pi.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:ACLU: http://www.aclu.org/NORML: http://www.norml.org/Vote Hemp: http://www.votehemp.com/Seattle Hempfest: http://www.hempfest.org/Cannabis Consumers: http://www.cannabisconsumers.org/Political Aroma Detected at Hempfesthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17088.shtmlHempfest Pushes Fall Ballot Measurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17086.shtmlTaking Another Pot Shothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17057.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by freedom fighter on August 18, 2003 at 22:43:18 PT afterburner I was tryin to find his damn eaddress... and all that came up...Yeah, it's good to know who is our enemy!pazffPS) Anyone who are represented by any attorney in impounded cases who have contributed to Tom Carr is in conflict of interest.. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by afterburner on August 18, 2003 at 19:42:13 PT: freedom fighter - re Tom Carr This Tom Carr sounds like the champion of the attorney class, so many of them contributed to his campaign. Looks like his support of auto-impound ordinance is a money-maker, and they all want a piece of the action. No wonder he doesn't want to reduce the cannabis enforcement, it's too much of a cash cow. It's good to know your enemy.Of course, many of those politicians in Washington, D.C., who have been maintaining the War on Some Drugs are also attorneys by trade. It reminds me of one of the Back to the Future movies, wherein it was said that justice had become swift since lawyers were abolished. Many Canadian cannabis activists have taken to representing themselves. Do we really think that only attorneys are qualified to make laws? ego transcendence follows ego destruction, "that government of the people, by the people, for the people should not perish from the earth." -Father Abraham (Lincoln) [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by freedom fighter on August 18, 2003 at 18:35:48 PT SON OF SIDRAN All about Tom CarrIn this article, "vote for carr"..http://www.thestranger.com/2001-11-01/city6.html Being betrayed by this politican!http://www.thestranger.com/2003-06-12/city.htmlThe contributors who donated monies for tom carr electionhttp://www.cityofseattle.net/ethics/el01a/report/lists/cartom.htmpazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on August 18, 2003 at 17:50:49 PT This guy is another one of "them" --It's an open question how lawyers would prove that marijuana use is, or is not, the city's lowest priority, he (Carr) added.--This guy doesn't get it. He is the City Attorney and is therefore paid by the city. When the city voters vote in Initiative 75, it is then a codified obligation that he is sworn to enforce. It's not for him and his buddies to decide on a case by case basis whether they agree with it---it's their marching orders, handed them by their electorate. As Lehder says, it's very simple... if spitting on the sidewalk were their very very lowest priority, now cannabis "crimes" supplant that lowest slot.This kind of attitude is precisely the problem: elected officials who have forgotten (or perhaps never really acknowledged to begin with?) that they work for the people. When the people speak, and the law of the land is changed, they have to let go of their neurotic visions of "how it used to be" and adap---or be thrown out.It's even worse in the case of appointed officals, as we all know only too well.MF [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Lehder on August 18, 2003 at 12:11:05 PT very simple >>City Attorney Tom Carr signed a voters pamphlet statement against the measure. He said in an interview that Initiative 75 would put him in a difficult position because, as city attorney, he must defend voter-approved city laws but also must enforce the state's marijuana laws.Listen, dummy, there's nothing at all difficult for you to figure out in your position - that's why you have the job you do. You can still enforce the marijuana laws - LAST. When every last crime has been solved, when you have returned every stolen bicycle to its rightful owner and when your city is free of cocaine and ticket scalpers, and when public drunkeness is recalled only by old timers in their quaint stories - then you can go to work on the mj somkers. It's very simple. And if you don't get it you'll be fired.Cities and states can no longer afford prohibition. Let the federales enforce their marijuana law. But they should not stay at my motel ( no vacancy ) or eat at my restaurant ( no reservations open ) or pump gas at my station ( no change) or ask me for directions ( don't know ). [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on August 18, 2003 at 11:17:27 PT Another battle? Democratic Party organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, the League of Women Voters of Seattle, the King County Bar Association and City Council members Nick Licata, Judy Nicastro and Heidi Wills are among those endorsing the measure.Sounds good to me! Oh, I know it's only a local issue and I supposed Johnny pee just pissed his pants! paceff [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on August 18, 2003 at 09:12:12 PT One month away Seattle will find out Sept. 18, when city voters decide Initiative 75.Now if this modest step towards the Logical conclusion fails in a city that host the largest hempfest in the world and is only 100 miles from Vancouver by means of Interstate 5, I will have to have a reality check.You can type in Seattle, WA at Mapquest- http://www.mapquest.com/ - and see how easy it would be to get from Seattle to a land that is doing fine without CP and millions are happy about. Some are downright estatic over the fall that prohibition took and millions hope it has fallen and cannot get up.Prosecuting and imprisoning people for laughing grass is the reefer madness this country gave the world and the backlash grows. The drug wars started by this country have outdone the cruelty of American slavery. It is not a hard statement to defend if the ignorant would listen. You have to start with numbers that are much larger than a few million slaves in our country and the civil war we cause in Colombia matches our short 4-year war. Corruption of government-media-industry have reached their pinnacle so remember to calculate something for future atrocities if you cannot see that the drug wars have outdone American slavery as an embarassment and an institutional injustice. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment