This Week in the Mercury

Blogtown, PDX

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Politics Don’t Harsh My Mellow

Posted by Scott Moore on Tue, May 8 at 5:05 PM

The Portland Parks and Recreation bureau has denied a permit for this year’s Hempstalk, claiming that organizers failed to abide by the permit for last year’s festival by allowing “widespread consumption of marijuana.”

The 2006 event was the second annual Hempstalk, which brought in an estimated 15,000 people (according to organizers) to Waterfront Park last September. Paul Stanford—the founder of The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation, which organizes the event—denies the claims, and argues that there were actually fewer arrests at the park during Hempstalk than during other weekends.

When Stanford and his colleagues applied for a permit this year, they were told that Waterfront Park was already booked for a dragon boat race, so they planned to hold it at Delta Park in North Portland September 8-9. Three weeks ago, however, the city sent Stanford a letter denying the permit—based at least in part on a “medical marijuana” tent that was set up for the event.

You can read all about it in this week’s Mercury, but in the meantime, Hempstalk organizers are appearing in front of city council tomorrow (during open communications at 9:30am) to plead their case. Even though Parks Commissioner Dan Saltzman has already backed the parks department’s decision, three votes on council could conceivably reverse the decision.

The only question: Who on city council is going to take up the cause? Randy Leonard? Sam Adams? Erik Sten? Tom “Pot”ter? C’mon, guys—who’s going to stick up for marijuana?

Or will city council continue down the path they’ve paved in the last few months, first with extending the “Drug Free Zones” and then approving the Sit-Lie Ordinance?

Keep Portland weird, right? Right? Ahem.

Addendum: I love this quote from Sgt. Chris Davis, head of the Street Crimes Unit for downtown police. “There was obviously smoking going on—people were not smoking marijuana in plain view but in a tent,” he continues. “If a Cheech and Chong movie had a smell, that was what it smelled like in Waterfront Park.”

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Comments

Not "consuming cannabis" at Hempstalk would be like tea-totaling at the beer and wine fest.

Posted by Beer Batter | May 8, 2007 5:20 PM

Damn hippies.

Posted by The Man | May 8, 2007 9:07 PM

There are five slots for Citizen Communications at the start of the Council's Wednesday morning session. Anyone can contact the Council Clerk and sign up once a month, to talk for three minutes on anything.

As it turns out, the first of the five tomorrow is me, talking about Charter Change. Then the four representatives of Hempfest. I've been trying to think of a situation that could possibly make me feel more of a geek - so far, haven't come up with one.

Posted by Amanda Fritz | May 8, 2007 10:32 PM

Hempstalk, not Hempfest. Can't even get the name right. File under the Lifetime Wonk category.

Posted by Amanda Fritz | May 8, 2007 10:36 PM

I don't know, Amanda. Oregon's medical marijuana laws are pretty wonky when it comes right down to it, especially as components of them get challenged and move up in the courts. The nuances of how it can be legal in the state, yet in direct contradiction to federal law, are pretty fascinating, but not exactly exciting. Charter reform, on the other hand--woo hoo! Look out!

Posted by Scott Moore | May 8, 2007 10:50 PM

What happened to that latest effort to move the enforcement of antiquated marijuana laws to dead last for our local Constabulary ? I'm pretty much pure Libertarian on that one...with the provision that there be a standard for pot DUIs like there is with regular drunken driving.

Next time our local government starts to cry about how broke it is, and how our taxes must be raised yet again, we could point out one thing that they are no longer wasting any of our money on.

It would be a start, anyway.

Of course, I could always play Devil's Advocate on that issue, and point out all of the countless livelihoods in enforcement, incarceration, probation/parole, drug testing, and so forth, that would be threatened by the end of prohibition...

Posted by Cabbie | May 9, 2007 1:42 AM

Good point, Scott. I went to a monthly meeting of the Medical Marijuana folks last year. I was very impressed, and learned a lot. I will be staying to hear what the speakers for Hempstalk have to say this morning.

Posted by Amanda Fritz | May 9, 2007 7:33 AM

Cabbie, that was a ballot initiative effort last year, but the organizers failed to gather enough signatures to get it on the ballot.

There's another effort filed with the city to get a similar law on the November 2008 ballot.

Posted by Scott Moore | May 9, 2007 8:12 AM

As your next city commissioner I promise a chicken in every pot, and pot in every chicken.

Posted by Dave Lister | May 9, 2007 9:00 AM

I think Dave Lister just officially announced his candidacy for...something.

Posted by Scott Moore | May 9, 2007 3:37 PM

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