OFFICIALS BUMMED OUT, BUT PRO-POT SHOW GOES ON

Pima County officials will allow a 12-hour, pro-marijuana concert to proceed at the fairgrounds tomorrow night, just weeks after they scuttled a "rave" dance because they didn't want to sanction illegal drug use.

Why is a weed-themed extravaganza called "Grass Roots Affair" acceptable on county property while rave concerts are not?

"That's a good question," said Ralph Wong, a consultant for the Southwest Fair Commission, which operates the fairgrounds on behalf of Pima County.

"We weren't concerned with this concert because it's not a rave," said Wong, the former director of the commission. "When I was briefed by the Sheriff's Department, I was told that they don't serve alcohol at raves, and at this event, beer will be served."

Since beer will be sold, that means the concert will attract an older crowd than a rave, said Kate O'Rielly, the county's community resources director.

Asked why the county would sanction an event promoting the legalization of marijuana, O'Rielly said: "It has something to do with First Amendment rights."

She declined to comment about whether a rave would be OK on county property if producers described it as a political rally calling for the legalization of the drug Ecstasy.

O'Rielly's boss, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, said yesterday that he's against the concert, no matter what it's called.

"Call it a rave, call it this or that, call it an Avon party - our concern remains the same," he said. "Parents might get the impression that the county is sponsoring it, and we absolutely are not."

In fact, Huckelberry sent a letter to the fair commission on Aug. 14 asking it to cancel the rave and "Grass Affair."

On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, he requested the commission do "whatever is necessary to cancel these events."

The commission allowed Grass Roots Affair to proceed after the producer argued that it wasn't a rave.

The promotional fliers for tomorrow's show are loaded with drug references, all set against a green, leafy background.

The 20-year-old producer of the concert is Ariel Farah, owner of a local head shop called Hazy Days. He said proceeds will go toward an industrial hemp initiative he wants to get on the Arizona ballot in 2002.

Proceeds also will benefit a group called Artists Helping End Marijuana Prohibition, he said.

The Sheriff's Department will not allow its deputies to work off-duty at the concert, said Assistant Chief Martha Cramer.

"I spoke out personally against raves because I didn't think it was something we should sanction, and you will notice that we won't be there at this weekend's event," Cramer said. "We're no longer doing off-duty work at the fairgrounds."

Tomorrow night's event "sounds a bit questionable," she added. "I would be surprised if there were no drug use there."

The producer didn't deny that some concert-goers might be tempted to inhale.

"But it was not our intention to put on a big pot-smoking party," Farah said. "I've been working with the county for the last four or five months, and I definitely didn't catch the same flak that went on with that rave."

The show, sponsored in part by High Times magazine, will feature live performances by reggae and hip-hop artists, from Shinehead and Lee "Scratch" Perry to Slick Rick and the Souls of Mischief.

Several techno, house and trance DJs also will perform in the early morning hours, including DJ Moda from San Francisco, DJ Lego from Chicago, and a duo known as the H Foundation.

A crowd of 7,500 to 10,000 is expected, Farah said.

"The fairgrounds stands to make good money because of the alcohol sales," he said. "We are not getting a cut of that."

Potheads the world over recognize 4:20 as a code meaning it's time to fire up a joint. Naturally, tomorrow night's extravaganza will begin at 4:20 p.m. and end at 4:20 a.m. Sunday.