cannabisnews.com: Hempfest To Stress Legal, Medicinal Uses of MJ.





Hempfest To Stress Legal, Medicinal Uses of MJ.
Posted by FoM on November 06, 1999 at 08:25:03 PT
By Matt Avery, Independent Florida Alligator
Source: U-WIRE
Hempfest organizer Kevin Aplin said he considers his event a part of University of Florida Homecoming rather than the competition. "We're just the green of Homecoming, not the blue and orange," Aplin said. 
The 10th annual Hempfest will be held Saturday from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Downtown Plaza. Aplin said the festival, which features live music and speakers, tries to send the message that "marijuana and hemp should be legalized for industrial, medicinal and spiritual purposes." Aplin said speakers Saturday will include local comedian Tom Miller and Charles Willett of the ACLU. Jodi James of the Cannabis Freedom Coalition and Pete Brady of the Canadian magazine Cannabis Culture also will attend. Local bands including Telefonic, 9 Miles and Bustamonte will provide entertainment. Aplin said the musical entertainment would cover "a nice variety." He also said a light show was planned. But Aplin said the primary purpose of the festival is to educate. Vendors will be on hand selling products like hemp crafts and clothes. Educational literature also will be distributed, and organizers will be circulating a petition to put a medical marijuana initiative on the 2000 Florida ballot. Most importantly, Aplin said, there will be a voter registration booth at the festival to encourage people to become active in the political process. Medical marijuana activist Scott Bledsoe, who has attended Hempfest every year since 1995, said he will give a motivational speech to recruit volunteers for the drive to put a medical marijuana initiative on the 2000 Florida ballot. Bledsoe said he would draw a parallel between the war on marijuana and the Revolutionary War. "We had people who gave up everything they had," Bledsoe said. Aplin said Hempfest usually draws between 2,000 and 5,000 to downtown Gainesville. He said the festival has been run in conjunction with UF Homecoming before, but that the two events do not compete because people usually come to the festival before or after the football game. He did say it was interesting that people draw a distinction between marijuana use at Hempfest and alcohol consumption at football games. He said that an analysis of the patterns of destruction would reveal that some UF football games have caused much more damage to property and lives than Hempfest ever has in its 10-year history. Aplin said he does not feel alcohol prohibition is the answer to alcohol-related problems at football games but that being drunk should be no more an excuse for illegal activities than being high. "You shouldn't have the Twinkie defense," he said. November 5, 1999(C) 1999 Independent Florida Alligator via U-WIRE Related Web Sites:10th Annual Gainesville Hempfesthttp://www.jug-or-not.com/can/gfest.htmlCannabis Culture Magazinehttp://www.cannabisculture.com/
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: