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Hempfest

Hempfest Post Mortem: Rick Steves Is Pro Stoner

August 20, 2007 at 12:07 PM | 0 Comments

Sixteen years ago, 500 potheads got together in Seattle to celebrate none other than that sweet Mary Jane. This past weekend, thousands of 4:20 fans hot boxed their way through heinous I-5 traffic to get to Mecca: Hempfest 2007 in Myrtle Edwards Park. The glorious weekend of weed-themed festivities is one of the few occasions where local police turn a blind eye to the illegal habit of toking--even in public.

The free event was run by a massive volunteer crew (with, we suspect, a serious case of the munchies) and included live music, a bong-a-thon and an entire convention center of hemp-based products. It also stirred some healthy debate about the war on drugs. We took special note of comments made by our friend at NPR, Rick Steves, host of our favorite radio show, Travel with Rick Steves. As it turns out, even he likes to burn, and he's in favor of legalization. He told the Seattle Times last year:

Nobody should think that Europe is down on hard drugs. They just don't clog their legal system with a lot of innocent pot smokers. Our program is so laughable, wasteful and counterproductive.

Seems his views haven't changed much since then. Even if he didn't get high, Steves was vocal this year on in his support of those that did. He told a reporter at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

I'm not going to sit at (Edmonds') Fifth and Main streets and smoke a joint, but 800,000 people in the U.S. were arrested last year for marijuana while in Berne (Switzerland) they're in public, smoking and playing backgammon and not bothering anyone. It (criminal prosecution) forces people into the street to deal with scary people. It's just so wrong.

Steves has got a point, but right now, we're still reeling from the contact high.

Related Stories:
· Travel Guru Stands Firm on War on Weed [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
· Seattle Hotels [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Oregon Norml]