News (Media Awareness Project) - US WI: Weedstock Sees Less Support Than Expected |
Title: | US WI: Weedstock Sees Less Support Than Expected |
Published On: | 2002-05-28 |
Source: | Daily Citizen (WI) |
Fetched On: | 2008-01-23 06:22:04 |
WEEDSTOCK SEES LESS SUPPORT THAN EXPECTED
Police Presence May Have Caused Many to Avoid the Gathering
Weedstock 2002 saw no arrests but very little support as well.
"There weren't any arrests," Beaver Dam Police Chief Gary Cox said.
"It was good. A very peaceful day."
The largest amount of people at the event at one time was about 200
people, and by the end at 6 p.m. only a handful of people were still
in attendance. The majority of people who attended the rally stayed
around the band shell area, where speakers and bands were heard, while
the rest of the park was open for others to enjoy.
Several children, in the play area of the park, played without paying
attention to the rally.
The city staffed extra police for the park during the day, which made
many of those in attendance questioning about the presence of the
police force.
"It's a little ridiculous," said Alexis Noles, who traveled more than
90 minutes to come to the event. "If you remove the police, how many
people do you actually have left. There is about one cop for every ten
people here."
Noles said the strong police presence may have stopped many from
coming to the event.
"We had a normal police presence considering the amount of people that
the organizer had estimated," Mayor Tom Olson said.
The organizer Ben Masel had told the city of Beaver Dam that there
would be at least 450 people in attendance, and the city had learned
from other reports that there may be about 2,500 people at the event,
Olson said.
The Dodge County Sheriff's Department staffed a communications truck
set up at city hall and the auxiliary police was on hand in the park
with the full-time officers.
"I give the sheriff and police chief a lot of credit for respecting
views they may not agree with," Masel said.
Press corps from Milwaukee, Madison and as far away as La Crosse
descended on the park at the noon kick-off as attendees trickled in.
Masel opened Weedstock by reminding the handful of early attendees
that it was illegal to smoke marijuana in the park and to "keep it
clean."
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Ed Thompson, Green Party candidate
for State Assembly Bernie Dalsey and Democratic candidate for attorney
general Joel Winnig followed Masel with speeches.
A.E. Hausman poetry was read and acoustic guitarists played Bob Dylan
songs while booths advertised tarot readings and sold incense.
A single set-up tent sold t-shirts with slogans like "Thank you for pot
smoking" and book titles that included "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts"
and "Pass the Test: an Employee Guide to Drug Testing."
Bottled water was also sold beside hemp seed and hemp flower
brownies.
"The only high you get from them is from good nutrition," said Karen
Thomas, an organizer of the event for more than a decade.
Masel said he did not see the day as a loss.
"I'm happy about the impact," Masel said. "The turnout is only part of
the impact. There was more local folks, since it was in town and not
on a farm."
The annual festival, which supports the legalization of marijuana, had
previously been a weekend event held on farm land.
Masel said since many of the people that organized the event had other
commitments and since it was only a six hour event, they had known it
would be smaller than in the past. They had, also, started advertising
later than they had in the past.
"The success was that we were able to hold the event more than the
amount of people at one time," Masel said.
A lot of the past supporters may have had other things they wanted to
do, Masel said.
"There are people that are more interested in partying, and those more
interested in the point," he said. "Since it's Memorial Day, some are
more interested in camping for three days."
Weedstock has moved around the state, so it may not be held in Beaver
Dam next year. Masel said he is unsure of what changes will be made
for next year.
Police Presence May Have Caused Many to Avoid the Gathering
Weedstock 2002 saw no arrests but very little support as well.
"There weren't any arrests," Beaver Dam Police Chief Gary Cox said.
"It was good. A very peaceful day."
The largest amount of people at the event at one time was about 200
people, and by the end at 6 p.m. only a handful of people were still
in attendance. The majority of people who attended the rally stayed
around the band shell area, where speakers and bands were heard, while
the rest of the park was open for others to enjoy.
Several children, in the play area of the park, played without paying
attention to the rally.
The city staffed extra police for the park during the day, which made
many of those in attendance questioning about the presence of the
police force.
"It's a little ridiculous," said Alexis Noles, who traveled more than
90 minutes to come to the event. "If you remove the police, how many
people do you actually have left. There is about one cop for every ten
people here."
Noles said the strong police presence may have stopped many from
coming to the event.
"We had a normal police presence considering the amount of people that
the organizer had estimated," Mayor Tom Olson said.
The organizer Ben Masel had told the city of Beaver Dam that there
would be at least 450 people in attendance, and the city had learned
from other reports that there may be about 2,500 people at the event,
Olson said.
The Dodge County Sheriff's Department staffed a communications truck
set up at city hall and the auxiliary police was on hand in the park
with the full-time officers.
"I give the sheriff and police chief a lot of credit for respecting
views they may not agree with," Masel said.
Press corps from Milwaukee, Madison and as far away as La Crosse
descended on the park at the noon kick-off as attendees trickled in.
Masel opened Weedstock by reminding the handful of early attendees
that it was illegal to smoke marijuana in the park and to "keep it
clean."
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Ed Thompson, Green Party candidate
for State Assembly Bernie Dalsey and Democratic candidate for attorney
general Joel Winnig followed Masel with speeches.
A.E. Hausman poetry was read and acoustic guitarists played Bob Dylan
songs while booths advertised tarot readings and sold incense.
A single set-up tent sold t-shirts with slogans like "Thank you for pot
smoking" and book titles that included "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts"
and "Pass the Test: an Employee Guide to Drug Testing."
Bottled water was also sold beside hemp seed and hemp flower
brownies.
"The only high you get from them is from good nutrition," said Karen
Thomas, an organizer of the event for more than a decade.
Masel said he did not see the day as a loss.
"I'm happy about the impact," Masel said. "The turnout is only part of
the impact. There was more local folks, since it was in town and not
on a farm."
The annual festival, which supports the legalization of marijuana, had
previously been a weekend event held on farm land.
Masel said since many of the people that organized the event had other
commitments and since it was only a six hour event, they had known it
would be smaller than in the past. They had, also, started advertising
later than they had in the past.
"The success was that we were able to hold the event more than the
amount of people at one time," Masel said.
A lot of the past supporters may have had other things they wanted to
do, Masel said.
"There are people that are more interested in partying, and those more
interested in the point," he said. "Since it's Memorial Day, some are
more interested in camping for three days."
Weedstock has moved around the state, so it may not be held in Beaver
Dam next year. Masel said he is unsure of what changes will be made
for next year.
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