SELECTMAN ADVOCATES HEMP SEED PLANTINGS

PROVINCETOWN - He calls them seeds of thought. Others call them seeds of
crime. Yet all agree the seeds in question are those of the cannabis leaf.
Marijuana, that is.

And if Selectman David Atkinson has his way, Provincetown will turn a little
greener after July 3, and a little more pungent. The self-described
libertarian patriot, who doesn't mind rolling his own controversy, is
proposing a "Free the Seed Day," inviting the public to plant hemp seeds on
public property.

The police will RSVP. That is, BYOC. They will be there, and they'll bring
their own cuffs.

"Are you serious?" Police Chief Robert Anthony said when told about the
plans and about copies of posters now circulating around town advertising
the event. "This is the first I heard about it."

Free the Seed Day coincides with the quasi-libertarian holiday Disobedience
Day, celebrated since the 1980s in several communities nationwide. The
holiday - not sanctioned by the Libertarian Party - encourages citizens to
break victimless-crime laws.

"We're planting the seed of thought, give people the idea to have a little
fun," said Atkinson, who ran for governor of Vermont in 1990, promising to
legalize marijuana. He lost that race, but won his effort at town meeting in
April to have Provincetown file a home-rule petition to legalize the
medicinal use of marijuana. The state Legislature has not yet discussed the
petition.

In the Green Mountain State they called him Disobedient Dave. One year
Atkinson even served as the national spokesman for Disobedience Day. He once
celebrated the day by participating in a helmetless motorcycle ride. Another
time, he took part in a nude swim at Texas Falls in Vermont, at a swimming
hole where neither swimming nor nudity was allowed. "Since he became
selectman in Provincetown in May 1998, he has been called everything from
refreshing to foolish. But even in a town that traditionally has had a
laissez-faire attitude regarding personal preferences, his latest plans have
had a less than euphoric effect. Betty Steele-Jeffers, chairwoman of the
board of selectmen, said the plans are inappropriate.

Indeed, when Atkinson took his oath of office, he swore he would "faithfully
perform all the duties placed upon" him to the best of his abilities and "in
accordance with the laws of this town and the commonwealth." "Atkinson
likens the stands he takes to those of the Founding Fathers. Back then, he
said, the framers of the Constitution believed in the sovereignty of the
individual.

"James Lampke, president of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel
Association - the bar association of municipal attorneys, based in Hingham -
said it was a judgment call as to whether Atkinson is breaching his oath of
office. "John Quincy Adams and George Washington probably took oaths of
office, too," he said. "Our country has had a history of freedom of
expression and civil disobedience - in appropriate cases. Whether something
is appropriate or not is not up to me to decide."

What will actually occur in Provincetown July 3 is unclear. Atkinson posted
his plans on the Internet and invited state and national marijuana-advocate
groups to participate. He said a lot of people are interested. Nothing will
be done as a group, he said.