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15th Seattle HempFest draws huge turnout PDF Print E-mail
Written by Tristin Coffman   
SAY IT OUT LOUD — The iconic Main Stage, where not all users stay right.
SAY IT OUT LOUD — The iconic Main Stage, where not all users stay right.
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No arrests as hundreds of thousands of consumers share two days of fun, music and cannabis

The nation’s largest annual cannabis policy reform event reached its 15-year mark as it brought its mixture of fun, education and politics to a mile of coastal park and five stages Aug. 19-20 for the Seattle Hempfest. Seattle Hempfest has brought together the nation’s leading experts, activists, and advocates for industrial hemp and marijuana law reform since 1991, amid multiple stages of music and hundreds of food, crafts and information vendors. Hempfest is a work-party, where people learn while they celebrate.

Hendrix-style finale for a guitar
Hendrix-style finale for a guitar
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LEAP was well-represented at this year's Hemp Fest.


Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper will be speaking at Hempfest. Chief Stamper spoke about his groundbreaking new book Breaking Rank, and his involvement with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Air America radio’s nationally syndicated talk show host Randi Rhodes appeared as a special guest emcee on the Main Stage on Saturday. Chart riding band Rehab performed this year at Hempfest, along with other great acts like Wisdom, John Sinclair, PYRX, Clan Dyken, Los Marijuanos, Mos Generator, Randy Hansen and many more. At 4:20, people lit up on stage; including one guitarist who even set his guitar on fire, in a Hendrix style close to his set.

Police mingled with cannabis consumers in the park for two days with nary a ticket for smoking, and a great time was had by all. Photos by Chuck McIntosh
Police mingled with cannabis consumers in the park for two days with nary a ticket for smoking, and a great time was had by all. Photos by Chuck McIntosh
Organized by local activists who coordinate thousands of volunteers to put it together, HempFest comprises two days of music and speakers and celebrate the green herb for both industrial hemp uses and its “kind bud” flower of health and social rapport. The event, which has run like clockwork for a decade and a half with few problems, not only gives the reform movement a national event and party, it has also played a major political role in making Seattle one of the most cannabis-friendly cities in the USA.

While it took a different approach to its 2003 campaign, Initiative 75, making cannabis offenses the city’s lowest law enforcement priority, could well have pointed to the peaceful gathering as an example of how a large event based on cannabis use compares favorably to similar size events fueled by alcohol. The passage of I-75 certainly brought down police arrests of minor cannabis cases and eventually made converts of even its most skeptical opponents.

This event is one of the pilgrimages that make the life of a reformer so rewarding and enjoyable.
 
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