Posted August 22, 2000
Special Report to MarijuanaNews by Richard Cowan
August 20, 2000
Seattle, Washington

The prohibitionist party line holds that the marijuana resistance movement is
the creation of a few evil billionaire “legalizers.” As is so often the case
with prohibitionist propaganda, that is really the mirror image of the truth. The exact
opposite.

The Seattle Hempfest is a remarkable example of volunteerism at its absolute
best. It costs over $70,000 to produce. It has a staff of almost 200 people. It has its
own web site, http://www.seattlehempfest.com,
and publishes a free program that is full of useful information to help educate the public
about marijuana prohibition. It even has a membership application for Hemp Coalition/NORML
of Washington for those who are motivated to get involved.

Speakers come from all over the country, and bands from Seattle’s vibrant
music scene contribute their services.

They do all of this with volunteers. No one gets paid!

Frankly, I usually don’t usually enjoy speaking at this type of event,
because outdoor venues often have sound problems and – most ironically – a
problem with noisy drunks who make it difficult to talk. But even that turned to be
different.

The sound systems were excellent, and because there was controlled access,
there were no drunks. The venue for the event was the Myrtle Edwards Park on the
waterfront in downtown Seattle. The park stretches for some distance, so vendors lined the
walkways. There were three stages for various size areas where several hundred people
could sit on the ground and listen to the bands and the speakers. The area in front of the
“Main Stage” could probably hold over a thousand people.

August is the least wet month in Seattle, and the weather cooperated
beautifully, drawing huge crowds. The police also cooperated. There was a large police
presence, but they were mostly smiling, and behaved very professionally. Perhaps they were
stung by the criticism of their behavior during the WTO demonstrations. Although there was
quite a lot of smoking, I don’t think that anyone got arrested.

Because of the shape of the venue and the fact that it runs from 10AM to 8PM –
and is free – it is difficult to guess the total crowd. However, it would not be
surprising if it exceeded last year’s estimated 90,000! This is a very big deal.

Nonetheless, the Seattle establishment does not quite seem to know what to make
of all this. Any other event of this size would get the usual rah-rah civic boosterism
that newspapers lavish on anything that gets people to come to town and spend money.

But, of course, this is about marijuana, so they have to be politically
correct. The day before the event the Seattle Post-Intelligencer carried a pretty good
article about the event but felt compelled to quote the DEA’s warnings about all the
supposedly toxic ingredients in marijuana, along with a hyperlink on the papers web
edition to the DEA’s web site.

Both of Monday’s papers carried the inevitable pictures of the most
“colorful” people there. They were no more typical of the crowd than were Keith
Stroup and I in our coats and ties. To its credit, the Seattle Times Monday article
actually quoted Keith.

The fact is that this event was a genuine triumph of volunteerism. I salute
them.

Now contrast this great volunteer event with the federally funded
prohibitionist propaganda campaign.

When I was thinking about what I wanted to say in my speeches, I remembered a
web site that I had found before Washington State’s successful medical marijuana
initiative. It is called “The Mfiles.”
See
The Mfiles – More Paranoid Than
The Xfiles But Less Believable; Federal Funds Used For Prohibitionist Propaganda Against
Washington State Medical Marijuana Intiative

Washington State Lt. Governor Brad Owens – who is running for reelection
– actually got into a little trouble for using money intended for the Northwest High
Intensity Drug Trafficking program to fund a site to lobby against the passing of the
initiative.
See
Seattle Times
Editorial Reports Washington State Lt. Governor Brad Owens Fined
For Using Tax Dollars To Campaign Against State Medical Marijuana Initiative

I thought I should tell the audience about that, but I checked first to see of
the site was still up. Indeed, it is. Only now it is openly sponsored by the Northwest
High Intensity Drug Trafficking program! And of course, it is still lying to the people
about medical marijuana, and now lumps marijuana with methamphetamine, which also starts
with an M. How convenient.

Think about this. We are winning despite the huge sums that the federal and
state governments — legally and illegally – spend on prohibitionist propaganda to
maintain marijuana prohibition.
See
We Are Winning!
Almost One Third In DEAland Now Support “Legalization” of Marijuana – 40%
In The West.
In the Face of the Massive Prohibitionist Propaganda Campaign and Spin Control in Polling.

Why? How is this possible?

Well, Burke said that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for
enough good people to do nothing. Let me offer “Cowan’s corollary” to that:
All that is necessary for the triumph of freedom is for enough good people to do
something.

The good people of the Seattle Hempfest are Exhibit A. I salute them and look
forward to being there next year.

Be sure and log on to www.pot-tv.net for
the 420 MarijuanaNews with Richard Cowan weekdays at 4:20PM Pacific time.
COLOR=”#ff0000″> If you miss any broadcasts, they are now available in the Archives.

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