Events - People of all ages came together in support of SSDP's campaign to legalize marijuana

[chillinwill]

Students and those who fondly remembered being students decades ago gathered on the South Oval for Hempfest on Saturday. Hempfest is an annual event hosted by Students for Sensible Drug Policy to promote the legalization of marijuana. This year's theme was the harm caused by the drug war. This year it carried on from noon until midnight.

The ages of those in attendance were diverse. Ohio State students roamed The Oval alongside other young Columbus natives, but many 40- and 50 year-olds took in the event while wearing old Grateful Dead and tie-dye T-shirts.

Attractions included three music stages with more than 25 bands. On the east side of The Oval, rock musicians jammed for the crowd lounging on the lawn. At the Browning Amphitheatre near Mirror Lake, hip-hop artists performed.

Patrons found their own fun away from the performances. Many sat around smoking from ornate hookahs in the grass, some played hacky sack and many walked dogs (and one cat). Between the stages, vendors offered products fitting with the theme of the festival.

Some offered apparel and jewelry displaying popular "counterculture" figures such as Bob Marley, Rastafarian religious icon Haile Selassie and The Grateful Dead. Other vendors sold pipes and glassware for smoking. One tent, Twenty Past Four, had an especially large selection. Its sign read, "For tobacco use only," but its logo was a squirrel with a marijuana leaf embedded in its tail. Other tents had less profit-driven motives.

The Ohio Libertarian Party had a tent promoting its pro-legalization policy. Michael Johnston, the party's candidate for state representative in 2010, explained the party's stance on the issue.

"The drug war should be ended. It's a waste of millions of dollars," Johnston said. "Marijuana should also be legalized so it can be regulated and taxed."

Organizers also pushed the benefits of "industrial" hemp, or hemp products made from plants that cannot be smoked. Members of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy went onstage between bands to promote the use of hemp in food products or as a "green" fuel source.

A few University Police officers roamed the festival, but there was no trouble to be found.

Scott Rehbein, a freshman in business, enjoyed the festival but saw some areas that could be improved.

"I didn't mind anyone displaying their drug habits," Rehbein said. "But a lot of parents were walking around with kids, who shouldn't have been exposed to that sort of thing."

Most feedback was positive, however. Johannah Bogart, a sophomore in comparative studies, enjoyed the atmosphere.

"Everyone is so inclusive," she said.

Stanislav Novikov, a freshman in chemical engineering, smiled as he voiced his favorite part of Hempfest, while he shared a hookah with his friends on The Oval lawn.

"The grass is so relaxing," he said.

By Ryan Book
June 3, 2009
The Lantern
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