This year’s Hempfest has special significance

SEATTLE — Thousands streamed into a Seattle waterfront park Friday for the opening of a three-day marijuana festival — an event that is part party, part protest and part victory celebration after the legalization of pot in Washington and Colorado last fall.

“This is going to be the biggest year for Hempfest,” said Jack Beattie, an 18-year-old Seattle University student, as he shared a joint with two friends. “In past years, people were a little bit sketched out about smoking in public. Now, there’s going to be a lot more.”

The free, annual event was expected to draw as many as 85,000 people per day. On Friday, many strolled by vendor stands, joints in hand as they checked out colorful glass pipes, tie-dyed clothing, bags of “ideal cultivation soil,” and hemp wares, including purses and necklaces.

Others sprawled on the grass in the steamy sunshine, listening to bands and speeches, or lit bongs on the beach and watched ferries cross Elliott Bay.

Hempfest is in its 22nd year of advocating for the legalization of marijuana, and this is the first time it’s been held since last fall, when Washington’s voters approved Initiative 502 and Colorado’s passed Amendment 64, legalizing the possession of up to an ounce of pot by adults over 21. Both states are developing systems of state-licensed growers and processors, along with stores where taxed, regulated weed will be sold.

Vivian McPeak, Hempfest’s executive director, said this year’s event was dedicated to reforming federal marijuana laws — specifically, the removal of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning a drug that has no medical benefit and a high likelihood of abuse. He asked festival-goers to make a voluntary $10 contribution to help offset the rally’s $800,000 cost.

“When we started Hempfest in 1991, many people thought we were jousting in the wind,” McPeak said. “What we’ve seen with the historic passage of I-502 and measure 62 in Colorado is that change is definitely in the wind.”

That was a sentiment shared by 21-year-old Giovanni Pelligrino and three friends as they sat on a driftwood log getting stoned.

“This year, it’s not really for us anymore,” he said. “It’s for everyone else, all the other states.”

“As long as it’s illegal federally it’s not really legal anywhere,” added one of his companions, Dean Bakeberg, also 21.

Technically, public use of marijuana remains illegal under Washington’s new law, punishable by a $103 ticket. But Seattle police have only been giving people warnings since the law passed, and they had no plans to write anyone up at Hempfest.

In fact, the cops planned to hand out Doritos on Saturday morning, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. In what they were calling “Operation Orange Fingers,” officers had about 1,000 bags of the nacho-cheese-flavored chips — which they affixed with labels reminding people of some of the nuances of Washington’s legal pot law.

Though it’s a huge party, Hempfest remains an important political event for many attendees, including Carole Defillo, of Monroe, and her son Collin Berry, 29, who said medical marijuana — in the form of a cannabis oil capsule twice a day — has made a world of difference for him since ulcerative colitis forced doctors to remove his large intestine in 2008. Since he started using the oil, he said, he has stopped taking any other painkillers and finds it much easier to walk around.

“It’s always good to have a good time, but there’s people who are sick and who need it as medicine,” said Berry, lifting his shirt to reveal a gnarly scar on his abdomen. “That’s why I come to Hempfest. I don’t have a lot of money to donate, but I can bring my presence.”

Online: www.hempfest.org

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Boeing firefighters union members and supporters hold an informational picket at Airport Road and Kasch Park Road on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Biden weighs in on Boeing lockout of firefighters in Everett, elsewhere

On Thursday, the president expressed support for the firefighters, saying he was “concerned” Boeing had locked them out over the weekend.

Everett officer Curtis Bafus answers an elderly woman’s phone. (Screen shot from @dawid.outdoor's TikTok video)
Everett officer catches phone scammer in the act, goes viral on TikTok

Everett Police Chief John DeRousse said it was unclear when the video with 1.5 million views was taken, saying it could be “years old.”

Construction occurs at 16104 Cascadian Way in Bothell, Washington on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
What Snohomish County ZIP codes have seen biggest jumps in home value?

Mill Creek, for one. As interest rates remain high and supplies are low, buyers could have trouble in today’s housing market.

Firefighters extinguish an apartment fire off Edmonds Way on Thursday May 9, 2024. (Photo provided by South County Fire)
7 displaced in Edmonds Way apartment fire

A cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday morning, fire officials said.

Biologist Kyle Legare measures a salmon on a PUD smolt trap near Sportsman Park in Sultan, Washington on May 6, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Low Chinook runs endanger prime fishing rivers in Snohomish County

Even in pristine salmon habitat like the Sultan, Chinook numbers are down. Warm water and extreme weather are potential factors.

Lynnwood
Car hits pedestrian pushing stroller in Lynnwood, injuring baby, adult

The person was pushing a stroller on 67th Place W, where there are no sidewalks, when a car hit them from behind, police said.

Snohomish County Courthouse. (Herald file)
Everett substitute judge faces discipline for forged ‘joke’ document

David Ruzumna, a judge pro tem, said it was part of a running gag with a parking attendant. The Commission on Judicial Conduct wasn’t laughing.

Marysville
Marysville high school office manager charged with sex abuse of student

Carmen Phillips, 37, sent explicit messages to a teen at Heritage High School, then took him to a park, according to new charges.

Bothell
1 dead after fatal motorcycle crash on Highway 527

Ronald Lozada was riding south when he crashed into a car turning onto the highway north of Bothell. He later died.

Riaz Khan finally won office in 2019 on his fifth try. Now he’s running for state Legislature. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Ex-Democratic leader from Mukilteo switches parties for state House run

Riaz Khan resigned from the 21st Legislative District Democrats and registered to run as a Republican, challenging Rep. Strom Peterson.

Tlingit Artist Fred Fulmer points to some of the texture work he did on his information totem pole on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at his home in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
11-foot totem pole, carved in Everett, took 35 years to make — or 650

The pole crafted by Fred Fulmer is bound for Alaska, in what will be a bittersweet sendoff Saturday in his backyard.

Shirley Sutton
Sutton resigns from Lynnwood council, ‘effective immediately’

Part of Sutton’s reason was her “overwhelming desire” to return home to the Yakima Valley.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.