MARIJUANA ENTHUSIASTS GATHER AT HARVEST FEST

The Theme of This Year's Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival in
Downtown Madison Was "Vote."

The 38th annual Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival attracted a large
crowd this past weekend in downtown Madison to celebrate a common
cause: their support for the legalization of marijuana. The festival
began Friday at the Cardinal Bar with a medical cannabis benefit and
continued through Sunday in Library Mall, with speakers, vendors,
informational tables, displays and food carts. The festival ended
Sunday with a parade to the Capitol, and a rally and concert at the
Capitol Square.

This year's theme was "Vote," so organizers and attendees recognized
the importance of getting one's voice heard. Agua Das, of Hemp
Sources, the inventor of hemp ice cream and a six-time attendee of
the festival, said he thinks "hemp makes sense" and supports legalization.

"I'm pro-hemp and I vote . I'm looking for candidates who will
support the hemp agriculture bill," Das said.

Eric Miller, an advocate for the Students for Nader campaign,
promotes Nader because he supports legalizing hemp. Miller believes
that hemp makes economic sense because it is an easy plant to grow
and is good for the environment.

Miller said there are consequences of marijuana use that directly tie
to our governmental policies.

"There are more people in jail in Dane County than any other county
in Wisconsin," Miller said. "There are more people in jail in this
country than any other industrialized nation, and that is not acceptable."

Doug Daudensdeck, a volunteer from Minnesota's national organization
that works with marijuana laws, set up a stand at the festival
passing out informational packets, buttons and signs promoting
marijuana education.

"[Marijuana] should be legal because it is a freedom of choice," he said.

Madison Police Department officers patrolling the area said the
festival was a peaceful and positive gathering; as long as the
attendees were not causing problems, they had bigger things to worry about.

Das explained the event perfectly. "This festival is not about dope,
it is about hope."