HEMPFEST RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS

After a year away, Hempfest is returning to the Algoma District.

Robert Neron, a longtime co-master of ceremonies for the
pro-marijuana festival, has received the blessing of founder Rob
Wadell to revive Hempfest at its traditional setting at a Poplar Dale
campground in Ophir, 45 kilometres east of Sault Ste. Marie.

"That's where Hempfest was born. That lot is mystical and somewhat
haunted, people say, and we want to return to where we came from,"
said Neron on Tuesday, from his home in Moonbeam, Ont., near Kapuskasing.

Wadell, the Sault Ste. Marie operator of Planetary Pride, announced
in 2009 he would not continue organizing the event. To maintain
continuity, Neron, who co-hosted all but the first festival, decided
to hold Hempfest On Vacation last year in conjunction with an annual
outdoor concert festival in Moonbeam.

Neron said attendance was "fairly low."

With its central location in Northern Ontario and proximity to the
United States border -- he estimates about one-quarter of attendees
are from the U.S. -- he is hoping for between 2,000 and 3,000 campers
for the 13th annual Hempfest this year. According to the Facebook
page he has set up, 276 have said they are attending as of Tuesday morning.

Neron is "quite sure more people would come if marijuana were legalized."

That's the direction Canada appeared to be headed under the former
Liberal government a decade ago.

Now, "the system is a farce," said Neron, 44, who suffers from
involuntary spasms of his neck and upper body and in 1998 became one
of the first federal exemptees to consume medical marijuana. "We were
the leading country in medicinal marijuana, and, shamefully, we're
now the followers."

Police presence at Hempfest has "most definitely" increased
substantially in the five years the Conservative government has been
in power, he said. The 2009 event saw Ontario Provincial Police stop
about 800 vehicles, up from about 500 the previous year, and lay
about 30 charges.

Neron said he hasn't given thought to trying to reach out to police
leading up to the event to minimize delays and disruptions. He
cautioned attendees to just "be careful what you do -- don't drive
stoned or drunk, have insurance on your car, wear a seat-belt ..."

To attract more campers this year, entrance fees will be waived for
federal exemptees. They'll also get to ride the eight midway rides
Neron is introducing this year for free. Vendors' fees will also be
waived this year, he said.

Hempfest takes place Aug. 25 to 28.