HEMPFEST ROCKS THE ZOX OFF URI

"It's a beautiful day with good vibes," Chad Anderson, a sophomore at
the University of Rhode Island and a member of Students for Sensible
Drug Policy (SSDP), said on Saturday in regards to URI's annual Hempfest.

SSDP organized Hempfest, which took place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on
the quadrangle and brought in an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people.
Anderson said music was the largest attraction at Hempfest and the
band Zox drew the biggest crowd.

"I've been enjoying the music," Tina Bowes, a freshman
said.

The event, which was open to the URI student body as well as the local
community, provided people with free entertainment from local bands,
and vendors who sold food, hemp jewelry and clothing.

Mark Blanchette, a vendor for the Wormtown Trading Company has been
coming to Hempfest since 1997. He described the enthusiasm and the
turnout of URI's Hempfest to be much better than many other
universities.

"For college events this is put together well," he said. "They do a
better job here than in other schools."

The array of activism allowed some people to appreciate more than just
the music and shopping.

"Hempfest sounded cool when I was asked to come here," Dane Putman, a
resident of Ashaway, R.I. said. "I like what it stands for and I would
definitely help its causes out. I think it should come back here every
six months."

SSDP used the event as an opportunity to educate the public about
issues they promote.

"Hempfest is basically here for people to have a good time, see a good
show and look at information about the failures of the drug war," said
Chris Tschirley a senior at URI and the treasurer of SSDP. "We want to
spread education."

Other organizations at the event also supplied information about
various issues: from the importance of voter registration to activism
against the war on drugs to the environmental importance of recycling.
The organizations included URI Recycling, College Democrats,
International Collegiate Organization for Nonviolence (ICON) and SSDP.

Representatives from other SSDP chapters also came to support URI and
to promote their own local events.

"We are here supporting the Hempfest at URI because we are all a part
of the Northeast Chapter," said Jen Rog, a representative of SSDP from
the New Paltz, N.Y. chapter. "It is exciting to have this level of
student activism and sharing ideas."