FESTIVAL BLOWS SMOKE AT ANTI-MARIJUANA LAWS

The 1999 Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival drew an estimated
5,000 people Saturday. The festival, in its 14th year, gave local
groups who support the legalization of marijuana a chance to be vocal
about the issue.

"Madison is a really receptive town," said Kevin Ehlinger, American
Cannabis Society booth operator. "It's a great place to hold festivals
like this one, because people will come out to support the cause."

Vending booths lined Library Mall, selling hemp merchandise ranging
from hemp cookies to hemp clothing.

Many of the vendors offered literature concerning the legalization of
marijuana for various reasons, ranging from medicinal use to an
alternative for corn syrup.

The all-day festival, which began at noon, included an hour-long march
from UW-Madison's Library Mall down State Street to the steps of the
Capitol building.

"Madison is a cool town," said John Kruswiki, who drove up for the
fest from Iowa. "I'm here to support the legalization of marijuana."

During the procession, the crowd chanted, "We smoke pot and we like it
a lot" and "Legalize it now." The chanting crowd displayed banners
that read, "Legalize with a little help from our friends" and "Hemp -
Our Premier Renewable Resource".

"Marijuana should be legal," said Kori Hopp, a festival attendee. "If
we don't come out and say something, who's going to?"

There were police officers on hand at the event from the Dane County
Narcotics and Gangs Task Force.

Sgt. McLay, an officer observing the crowd said the primary function
of the police officers at the festival was crowd control.

"We're not working the crowd to make big drug arrests," McLay
said.

Although festival permit applicant and organizer Ben Masel maintains
that attendance of this years gathering matched those of previous
years, festival attendees disagree.

"[Harvest Festival] has gotten smaller progressively in the last seven
years," McLay said. "This decline may be due to marijuana becoming
less politically correct."

Sarah Kirkland, a member of the group Students for a Sensible Drug
Policy blamed the lower attendance on the coordinators of the event.

"I think the turn out is pretty low because of poor organization,"
Kirkland said. "Today's festival was scheduled on the same day as the
Phish show which attracts the same crowd of people."

Occupying a booth at the festival, student organization SSDP used the
event to promote their organization.

"This is a really good event to spread the issues that my group
focuses on," said Eric Hogansen, founder of SSDP.

Consisting of 25 members from UW, the group, whose main goal is to
eliminate marijuana from being classified with more serious drugs, is
one of 12 organizations nationwide.