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Seattle Hempfest 2011 In Photos: Friday and Saturday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 21, 2011 Culture, Products

All photos by Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ unless otherwise noted

Hempfest 2011, the biggest ever (as in, for the first time ever, three days, man) is still happening at Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle until 10 p.m. Sunday night. The first two days saw plenty of memorable moments.

For me, speaking for the first time from the Share Parker Memorial Main Stage on Friday was a sure enough rush. Looking out, seeing and hearing that many cheering, happy people was definitely one of the high points of my weekend — and one that I was able to replicate again on Saturday from the Seeley Memorial Stage, where I spoke just before 4:20 and got back up onstage with a big crowd of folks at the magic moment.

Here are some of the best photos from this weekend to remember.

Seattle Hempfest All Weekend! Meet The Safety Team

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 19, 2011 Culture

Photo: Jack Rikess

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent (From Seattle)

Seattle’s Hempfest opens today. For 20 years, political activists, social progressives, cannabis enthusiasts and the curious has been making the trek out to the Northwest’s longest running cannabis klatch. The festival occupies a twist of land that stretches on the East edge of the sound for a little better than a mile and half. Really, just a hefty salmon toss down from Pike Place Market.

Expanding from two to three days, with a new Friday opening instead of the usual Saturday beginnings, from what I saw Thursday as the crews were setting up, it’s only getting bigger and better. For three days, there will be knowledgeable speakers talking about issues intrinsic to Washington State, plus non-stop music, great looking food booths and of course, about two hundred thousand attendees, looking for info, music, exotic munchies and a precipitous good time.

Vote For Medical Marijuana At South By Southwest

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 19, 2011 Culture, Medical, News

Photo: WBAL

Marijuana critic: William Breathes at work

My friends at Denver Westword are lobbying to have their medical marijuana panel accepted for the 2012 South By Southwest (SXSW) conference, and they have a good shot at making the cut. But they need our help.

The panel, “Big Business: The Future of Marijuana Journalism” couldn’t be more relevant and timely.

Online voting comprises 30 percent of how a panel gets accepted for inclusion. “That’s a big chunk,” said Web Editor Nick Lucchesi at Westword.

To vote for inclusion of the medical marijuana panel, click this link:

http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/9525

This Weekend: Hempfest Marks 20 Years With Biggest One Yet

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 18, 2011 Culture, News

Graphic: Seattle Hempfest

There has to be a Number One in every category. When it comes to pot rallies, Seattle Hempfest is the biggest and arguably the best on the planet.

The monster marijuana rally — or “protestival,” as organizer Vivian McPeak puts it — is marking 20 years of existence with this year’s event, held at Myrtle Edwards Park on the beautiful Seattle waterfront — and for the first time ever, Hempfest is slated for three days.

The party begins at high noon on Friday, August 19 and continues until 8 p.m., then things start up again at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, lasting until 8 each night.

President Freezes Up, Stumbles When Asked About Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 17, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Blogging Vermont Style

Since it is becoming increasingly obvious that President Obama is going to be asked about marijuana every single time there’s a forum where the public is free to submit questions, it would make sense for the Commander in Chief to bone up on the subject, and at least go to the trouble to prepare some intelligent responses.

Apparently the Administration doesn’t feel that it’s worth their time to do that, though. Obama seems to actually be getting worse at talking about cannabis, as pointed out by Scott Morgan of StoptheDrugWar.com.

“This latest exchange is just embarrassing,” Morgan writes of the President’s latest sidestepping of a cannabis question.

‘Toke Signals’ Forum To Discuss Future of Marijuana in WA

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 17, 2011 Culture, News

Graphic: Seattle Weekly

Tomorrow night at 7, I’ll be onstage in Seattle with seven other panelists to discuss what’s next for marijuana in Washington State.

The event, sponsored by Seattle Weekly and KCTS 9, is called “Toke Signals: The Future of Marijuana in Washington State.”

And there’s still time to submit questions for the panel, reports Curtis Cartier at Seattle Weekly.

The forum will be at KCTS 9’s studio near Seattle Center and will feature:

• John McKay: Former U.S. Attorney and Seattle University Law Professor who prosecuted Marc Emery

• Rick Steves: Author, PBS travel correspondent and marijuana law reform advocate

• Steve Elliott: Seattle Weekly’s “Toke Signals” medical marijuana dispensary review columnist and Toke of the Town blog editor

Breathe Deeply: 4:20 Yoga Class Offered In California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 15, 2011 Culture, Products

Graphic: Cafe Press

Classes are being offered in California and elsewhere which combine two kinds of relaxation and centering: yoga and marijuana.

The 4:20 Remedy Yoga Class at Brazilian Yoga and Pilates in Atwater puts together “two of hippy-dippy California’s favorite feel-good, vaguely medicinal pastimes,” reports Amanda Lewis at LA Weekly.

Yoga teacher Liz McDonald noticed that many of her private clients showed up high to practice yoga, so she decided to offer a class specifically catering to a cannabinated clientele.

She conceived of the class as “a gathering of creative minds, a very non-judgmental place where all are welcome,” McDonald said. “Do I really want a couple of uptight conservatives in here? Ideally, no, but … my business welcomes all types of people, especially those tight-asses that may need it most!”

‘Marijuana Is Sexy’: Talking Pot with Mendo Sheriff Tom Allman

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 12, 2011 Culture, Growing

Photo: Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman: “We are, of course, supportive of legitimate medical marijuana here.”

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The Coming of the New Prophet

Rikess: Last time we spoke in August of last year… (See Toke of the Town’s 2010 interview with Sheriff Allman here.)

Sheriff: Seems like yesterday…

Rikess: (laughs) I know and still…you don’t write and you don’t call…

Sheriff: (laughs) Okay…

Rikess: So last time I was here, you said something that was incredibly right on. You said that there was going to be very little difference between George Bush’s administration and Obama’s, when it came to medical marijuana. You said that someone big in the attorney general’s office sat in the chair I’m sitting in and said, and I’m paraphrasing, “He guaranteed me that it was going to be the same under Obama as it was with George Bush. In the end, Eric Holder will handle medical marijuana the same way [the]George Bush [Administration] did.”

Sheriff: It wasn’t Eric Holder. It was a U.S. attorney. The chronological order was, the U.S. attorney came up here and said, (this is definitely under George W.), saying, “ummm, the U.S. government will not get involved with any marijuana cultivation, distribution, what-ever-you-want-to-call-it, that falls within the boundaries of California’s medical marijuana.”

Okay, thank you very much. And, you know, he took his dog and pony show and went somewhere else.

Then the presidential election happened, okay. Then in the primary or maybe it was before the general election, Obama just mentioned something about medical marijuana.

Most Americans Want To Legalize Marijuana: New Poll

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 9, 2011 Culture, Legislation, News

Graphic: Misplaced In The Midwest

Just give me the ganja. A new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found that a majority of Americans continue to believe that marijuana should be legalized, but don’t support the legalization of other drugs.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,003 American adults, 55 percent of respondents support the legalization of cannabis, while 40 percent oppose it.

Democrats are the group most supportive of legalizing cannabis in the United States, with 63 percent in favor of ending the war on marijuana. Almost as many Independents, at 61 percent, also support the move.

Republicans were out of step with the majority on the legalization issue, with just 41 percent supporting marijuana legalization and 56 percent opposed.

Marijuana legalization enjoyed big majorities among men (57 percent) and respondents aged 35 to 54 (also 57 percent).

Northern California Pot Wars: 632,058 Marijuana Plants Seized

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 9, 2011 Culture, Growing, News

Photo: California Department of Justice

Local, state and federal personnel were involved in the three-week Operation Full Court Press, which wasted taxpayer money across six Northern California counties.

Operation Full Court Press, an incredibly expensive, mind-numbingly futile, and ultimately quixotic multi-agency anti-marijuana operation in Northern California, has wound up its three weeks of fun this year, claiming the seizure of 632,058 marijuana plants.

The operation, which covered Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity counties, targeted large-scale illegal marijuana grows in and around the Mendocino National Forest. It involved more than 300 personnel from 25 local, state and federal agencies, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The conclusion of this phase of Full Court Press, in addition to the plants, resulted in the seizure of 1,986 pounds of processed marijuana; $28,031 in U.S. currency; 38 weapons and 20 vehicles.

Arrested were 132 individuals, 118 of whom were booked on various federal and state charges including marijuana, firearm, and immigration violations. Fourteen of those arrested were foreign nationals and were detained on administrative immigration violations. They will be processed for removal from the United States.

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