HUNDREDS GATHER TO DECRY POT LAWS

Not A Rave, But A Rally At Fairgrounds By Backers Of Legalizing Marijuana

"Grass Roots Affair" kicked off as scheduled yesterday at 4:20 p.m.,
drawing a crowd that ranged from teen-agers looking for a good time to
people in their 50s supporting a cause.

The show at the Pima County Fairgrounds featured several reggae and hip-hop
bands, disk jockeys and booths set up by groups ranging from marijuana
advocates to the Libertarian Party. It was scheduled to last until 4:20
a.m. today.

Ed Tinsley, 18, a student at Canada del Oro High School, was at the show as
the gates opened.

"It's a good cause, and there's not too many other people that you can come
out and be with to enjoy life," Tinsley said about the pro-marijuana gathering.

Though the event met with disapproval from Pima County officials, the
concert was allowed to proceed just weeks after a "rave" dance was canceled
at the fairgrounds because officials didn't want to sanction illegal drug use.

The Southwest Fair Commission, which operates the fairgrounds for the
county, allowed yesterday's concert after the promoter said the event was
not a rave.

Promoter Ariel Farah, 20, said he did not have time to talk to a reporter
last night at the event. Previously, Farah said the show was to promote the
legalization of marijuana. Proceeds, he said, were to go to a group called
Artists Helping End Marijuana Prohibition.

Greg Schroeder, a Bisbee resident who suffers from glaucoma and is blind,
celebrated his 54th birthday at the concert.

"I'm here because the government is oppressive. Because I don't have the
freedom to put a seed in the ground and grow it. I'm being oppressed. I
should be able to use this for medicine, but I don't have the right because
of you-know-who," he said.

Mary Mackenzie is the secretary for Arizona 4 NORML - the National
Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws - a group that is working to
restore marijuana's availability as medicine. The group had a tent set up
at the event.

"We were started in 1970," Mackenzie said. "We're trying to change the law.
We are opposed to the drug war. You can't legislate morality."

Though the Pima County Sheriff's Department did not plan on having a
presence at the concert, there was security on hand.

Jim Hunt, 28, director of security for the company hired by the promoter
and fairgrounds, said the event was running smoothly.

Farah had said he expected a crowd of about 7,500 to 10,000 to attend. The
crowd was sparse early on but began to grow as the sun went down. There
were about 1,000 people there as of 9 p.m., officials estimated.