PRO-POT CONCERTS SET TO ROLL IN STARKS

STARKS -- Along with warm temperatures, longer days and mosquitoes,
summer in this rural town brings a full lineup of rock concerts laced
with a heavy dose of marijuana advocacy.

Freedom Fest, the first of a series of six weekend concerts, starts
this weekend and is followed a week later by The Maine Garden Fest.

Hempstock, the oldest of the events, is scheduled for Aug. 16-19.

In the 1990s, Hempstock typically drew thousands of visitors,
overwhelming the town of about 600 but causing a backlash that led
residents to adopt a mass-gathering ordinance.

Police also soon set up roadblocks near the entrance to the concerts,
checking attendees for probation violations.

This year, Donald Christen, who started Hempstock almost 17 years ago
to advocate the legalization of marijuana, said he expects no controversy.

"We don't want any trouble and we don't cause any," said Christen.

Freedom Fest will feature Jim Weider, a former member of "The Band,"
and "jam band" Stratospheerius.

Last year, more than 500 people camped out at Freedom Fest, Christen
said. This year, he said he expects more, based on inquiries.

The concerts are platforms to advocate legalizing marijuana, but they
are also money-makers for Christen.

After starting out with one -- Hempstock -- he has added additional
events over the years.

The Maine Garden Fest, June 22-24 features Strangefolk, which
Christen calls one of the top jam bands in the area.

He said organizers send people into Starks to monitor noise levels,
and that nobody parks along the road.

As long as there aren't too many concert-goers, police tend to more
or less leave the events alone, said Christen.

"They have one or two pass-throughs ... but they don't have a big
presence," he said.

Maine State Police Acting Lt. Roderick Charette, commander of the
Troop C Barracks in Skowhegan, said police take Hempstock into
account when planning manpower allocation.

"It is what I term to be a notable event, like the Skowhegan Fair,"
said Charette. "We will have extra troopers in the area."

Christen's presence at Hempstock is in question, however, because of
his scheduled sentencing that day on charges of cultivating marijuana.

He did not deny he was growing marijuana but said he was growing it
legally under Maine's medical marijuana law on behalf of his wife,
who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Christen, who represented himself in court, said he hopes the judge
will see him as somebody who was trying to follow the law but just
did not have all his paperwork in order.