OREGON MARIJUANA ACTIVIST TO LEAVE U.S.

HARRISBURG, Ore. - The organizer of the annual World Hemp Festival is tying
up loose ends in preparing to leave the country.

"I'm running for the border now," marijuana activist Bill Conde told The
(Eugene) Register-Guard.

Tomorrow will be the final business day for Conde's Redwood Lumber, which
has doubled in recent years as home base for the three-day World Hemp Festival.

Conde will auction off items remaining at his business from lumber to tools
and even a forklift Oct. 13. He said he plans to move to the Central
American country of Belize, where his wife and three children are waiting.

Conde faces six criminal charges related to allegations of drug use at his
hemp festivals. He said he has been negotiating with the Linn County
district attorney's office to resolve the charges so he can legally leave
the country.

"I don't want to battle them anymore," he said.

The prosecutor who is handling Conde's case was unavailable for comment.

In June, Conde served a two-week sentence after being convicted on felony
charges of abetting delivery of a controlled substance and hindering
prosecution.

Less than a week after being released, Conde announced his intention to
form a new political party he would call the Environmental Party and run as
its candidate for Oregon governor in 2002.

But Conde, 58, now says he's ready to retire to his wife's native country.
He also said the national events of the past month have prompted changes
that reinforced his decision to move on.

"In all honesty, man, I'd be scared to stay in this country now," Conde
said. "I'm a dove, not a hawk. Right now in the United States of America,
it's really not good flying weather for the doves."