POWNAL POT FEST SNUFFED OUT

It looks like the marijuana festival scheduled for this weekend in Pownal
won't be happening after all because the resident who was going to lease
his land to the organizers has changed his mind.

Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson announced Monday
that the Maine Vocals had canceled the event.

"I was very pleasantly surprised," Anderson said. "I think that might be an
understatement."

Maine Vocals founder Don Christen had vowed to hold the Cumberland County
Hemp Festival despite being denied a permit by the town's selectmen. Town
officials said the group's application did not meet the requirements of the
mass-gathering ordinance.

Christen framed the issue as a matter of free speech. The town, meanwhile,
voiced concerns about the traffic, trespassing and campfires that could
accompany the thousands of people expected to descend on their rural
community of 1,500.

The festival would have featured 28 bands, speakers and educational booths
on Andy Jordan's farm. Tickets would have cost $30 each, with the money
promoting the legalization of marijuana.

Jordan told officials last week that he changed his mind, Anderson said.

Anderson sent Jordan a letter that told him his land could be seized and
forfeited if there were any Class A, B or C offenses involving controlled
substances other than marijuana committed during the festival.

Anderson said her letter to Jordan was not meant as a threat, but to warn
him of the possible risks he was taking.

"I also understand that Mr. Jordan's neighbors and friends and fellow
citizens of Pownal were very unhappy with this festival going on," Anderson
said.

"And Mr. Jordan may be aware of that and he may be motivated by wanting to
be a good neighbor and resident."

Neither Jordan nor Christen could be immediately reached for comment. But
the Maine Vocals Web site announced the cancelation and said the group
"will be pursuing the matter," which Anderson interpreted as a threat to sue.

"This is America - anybody can sue anybody for anything," she said. "But
frivolous lawsuits get thrown out of court very quickly, and I'm not at all
concerned or worried about defending my actions in court."

Christen's group holds an annual "Hempstock" festival in Starks in western
Maine each summer.

He said he was branching out from Starks to take advantage of the greater
population in southern Maine.