War
on
Free
Assembly:
Seattle's
recent
Hempfest
marred
by
official
"mistakes"
and
inappropriate
police
presence
9/20/97
The Seattle Hempfest, attended in its previous incarnation (1995) by over 50,000 people, became the stage for a show of farce by the city's government. Unable to ban the fest outright under the First Amendment, and just 10 weeks away from a vote on Washington's I-685, which would allow doctors to prescribe current Schedule I drugs such as marijuana and would mandate alternatives to incarceration for non-violent first-time offenders, the city resorted to juvenile and bullying tactics in a transparent attempt to curb the rights of speech and assembly for those with whom it disagrees. Having granted a permit after months of acrimony, sprinklers "accidentally" went off the night before the gathering, causing thousands of dollars in damage to booths and electrical equipment already set up. The following morning, the Seattle Fire Department held a "drill" which blocked entrance to the park during early-morning hours, thus significantly hindering final preparations by organizers. The department claimed that it "didn't know" that the event was scheduled. At the Hempfest itself, attendees were herded through a quarter mile-long phalanx of police and all were subject to searches upon entrance. Inside the park, gangs of police "patrolled" the area in what has been reported in the Seattle press as more "occupation" than presence. Cops also traversed the crowd on bicycle and horseback, undercover agents were used and an anti-riot vehicle was stationed at the park's entrance. While the Hempfest was going on, across town, a man leaving the Seattle Kingdome after having attended a Mariners' game was stabbed to death in an act of random violence. (DRCNet asks: why are the police more interested in harassing marijuana reform activists than in preventing murders?)
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