HEMP FEST LIGHTS UP COMMONS

Hemp Fest Lights Up Commons

Hemp Fest-- the annual public convention held to advocate the
legalization of marijuana in Massachusetts -- was held Saturday and
Sunday at the Boston Commons, with local students and dread-locked,
tie-dyed demonstrators alike demanding one thing: freedom.

Mike Cann, a spokesman for MassCann, which sponsored the event, said
he was unhappy with Massachusetts' current political agenda.

"The police are not our enemy," he said. "We have one common enemy:
politicians. I will never vote for someone who wants to arrest me."

Yet the Boston Herald reported yesterday that police arrested 53
people for marijuana possession, and passed out fliers stating they
would not pardon anyone with the drug.

But that did not deter thousands of people from attending the event
or protesting.

Rachel Normington, a student from New Hampshire who did not want to
name what school she goes to, said she was a first-timer at "the 'Fest."

"We'll keep coming as long as [legalization] is an issue," Normington
said. "It's about everybody coming together as one family. We're
trying to reform marijuana laws but it goes deeper than that, and the
more people, the greater the effort."

Jimmy Devine, a representative for Students for Sensible Drug Policy
- -- an organization that leads college students across the country in
an effort to amend anti-drug policies on campus -- also spoke on
behalf of college kids choosing to use marijuana.

"More than 300,000 students have lost financial aid for the
possession of marijuana," he said.

Devine added that in the United States, someone is arrested for a
drug-related crime every 40 seconds.

Hemp Fest 2006 was also a medium for local businesses to publicize
their products, including Amy Fulgham, a delegate for Awea -- a
clothing and accessory company out of Portland, Maine -- who was
there to support hemp as an alternative material.

"Awear is here to promote hemp as a sustainable material," she said.
"We're looking to replace cotton and other materials that people
don't understand are chemically grown."

"Hemp Fest is about displaying a peaceful demonstration," said Aaron
Depner, the artist for Hemp Fest's logo. "Legalizing marijuana in
Massachusetts so the sick can have access to it is important. I've
been doing this for eight years now."

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws -- a
MassCann sponsor and nonprofit lobbying organization working to
legalize marijuana -- has been representing Cannabis consumers since
1970. Behind posters of Jerry Garcia and beside shirts that read
"Don't Panic, It's Organic," advocates spread the word about the rush
towards legalizing marijuana, informing attendees on the dangers of
tobacco and alcohol.

One of the many bands performing at the convention, StilFro, sang
with conviction, "I smoke more weed, I smoke weed forevermore."

"I'm just here to see my son," Lois Geary, father of the drummer for
StilFro, said. "I grew up in the 60's, though; I know what this is about."