HASH BASH DRAWS CROWD OF 5,000 PEOPLE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DIAG

The Hash Bash is back.

Hampered in recent years by waning interest and uncooperative
weather, the first-weekend-of-April marijuana fest drew about 5,000
to the heart of downtown Ann Arbor Saturday.

Before the weekend, emcee Adam Brook said weather, more than any
other factor, would determine the size of the weekend's crowd. The
weather didn't disappoint, reaching 70 degrees by noon before rain
and wind set in at 1:30 p.m.

Diane Brown, a spokeswoman with the University of Michigan Department
of Public Safety, said the crowd was larger than usual - but no
problems occurred.

Campus officers made 10 arrests Saturday, all for marijuana
possession. One was a U-M student, Brown said.

The penalty for smoking pot at the Hash Bash varies greatly between
campus and city property. On city property, getting caught with a
joint means a $25 fine; on state property, it's up to a year in jail.

Most hash bashers wait until the Monroe Street Fair on city streets
to toke up. But now that Michigan has a medical marijuana program
allowing upward of 10,000 patients to smoke marijuana under the
protection of state law, many others in the crowd took the liberty to
smoke, whether on university property or not.

The Hash Bash began with a "High Noon" rally on the Diag. From the
steps of the Hatcher Graduate Library, Brook explained that campus
police enforce state law, not the more liberal Ann Arbor statute.

Minutes later, Brook asked the medical marijuana patients in
attendance to pull out their cards and their marijuana. Not only did
registered patients smoke with impunity, so too did many
healthy-looking young people.

After an hour of speakers, including John Sinclair, the Hash Bash
headed south to the Monroe Street Fair. Vendors and a sound stage
lined Monroe Street, and hundreds of people passed marijuana in
ciphers on the lawn southeast of the Law Quad.

Now that marijuana has been approved for medicinal use in Michigan
and in 12 other states, many at Saturday's event pushed for
full-blown legalization.

"California should be the model," said James Peters of Decker, Mich.
"They're talking about legalizing it outright - why should you have
to be a patient to smoke?"

Tommy Cummings of Westland said he was surprised Michigan even got to
the point of legalizing medical marijuana. Michigan is the only
midwestern state that currently allows medical marijuana. California,
which pioneered medical marijuana in 1996, is rallying momentum for a
ballot initiative to legalize pot.

"Who could've ever guessed it would get to this point?" Cummings
asked. "Why stop now - why not legalize it altogether? Look around.
It happens anyway."