cannabisnews.com: Pownal May Be Home To Concerts Promoting Marijuana





Pownal May Be Home To Concerts Promoting Marijuana
Posted by FoM on April 27, 2001 at 09:45:38 PT
By Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Pownal, a small town of 1,491 known for its church suppers, may soon be home to annual rock festivals promoting the legalization of marijuana. The marijuana advocacy group that started the ''Hempstock'' in the town of Starks plans to hold two weekend concerts this summer at Andy Jordan's farm on Elmwood Road. The Cumberland County Hemp Festival is set for June 22-24, and the Sweet Leaf Fall Festival is scheduled for Sept. 14-16. 
The concerts will feature two dozen bands and are expected to draw between 3,000 and 5,000 people, according to Don Christen the president of Maine Vocals. Tickets will cost $30 each and the money will be used to advocate for the legalization of marijuana, for both medicinal and recreational use. Since 1990, Maine Vocals has been holding summer concerts each year in the Somerset County town of Starks, population 578. Christen said the group wants to expand to southern Maine to take advantage of the large population. In March, voters in Starks approved noise limits, which Christen said makes it difficult for the concerts there to grow. Two concerts are planned for the summer in Starks. The group held concerts in the Kennebec County town of Vienna, population 527, for two years but stopped holding them because of low attendance. Maine Vocals plans to ask the Pownal Board of Selectmen on Monday for a permit. Christen said the group has a constitutional right to assemble, and selectmen, who met with the town's attorney, agree. Selectman Lauren Tuttle Jr. said the group can hold the events if they comply with the town's 2½-page-long mass gathering ordinance. ''We don't want it,'' Tuttle said, ''but if they meet the criteria, we'll let it go. We've got to.'' Jordan, who is a Pownal native, is leasing his farm to the group to make some money. He said he doesn't smoke marijuana and wouldn't want his children to, but that he wouldn't condemn anyone who does. But Jordan's neighbors don't have such a lackadaisical attitude. Some met with selectmen earlier this week. ''I don't feel we need that element,'' Roger Hanna said. ''I'm probably prejudiced. I'm 65 years old. But I don't want druggies around me at all.'' Hanna said he's worried that the concert-goers might chop down some of the 1,000 trees and shrubs he planted next to Jordan's farm for a bonfire. He also worries that the woods around his home could catch fire. Most of the problems at the concerts in Starks have stemmed from intoxication, according to Detective Lt. Carl Gottardi II. He said that the concerts have become much better organized recently and that the group advertises that no alcohol is allowed. ''They've done a fairly good job of keeping control of things,'' he said. John Archard, Vienna's code enforcement officer, said there were few problems at the concerts. But town officials were glad nonetheless when they stopped. ''It's just one less thing to deal with in a small town,'' he said. Source: Associated PressPublished: April 27, 2001Copyright: 2001 Associated PressRelated Article & Web Site:Maine Vocalshttp://www.mainevocals.org/Hempstock Celebrates 10th Anniversary http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6782.shtml
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