Portland Hempstalk has had its ups and downs with the City of Portland. The festival that has been helping raise awareness about the benefits of cannabis and hemp for years had its permit taken away and has had to jump through some serious bureaucratic hoops. Advocates eventually had to take to Portland City Hall and garner a majority of the city commissioners to proceed with the festival this year. The Portland Police Bureau and Parks Bureau both opposed a permit for this year’s Hempstalk, but activists, wouldn’t be denied, winning a 3-1 vote in favor of granting the festival a license, as The Oregonian reported:
The vote came after more than two hours of testimony from city officials and Hempstalk supporters and organizers. The testimony included widely different accounts of what happened at last year’s event.
Police and parks officials once again painted a picture of “rampant drug use” and willful negligence by organizers, who they said encouraged attendees to smoke pot outside the gates.
Hempstalk supporters said that just simply wasn’t true, contending that the organizers did everything they could to prevent the consumption and sale of marijuana at the park. Hempstalk argued the city consistently holds the festival to an unfair double standard, comparing the event to the Oregon Brewers Festival, Waterfront Blues Festival and other events.
Hempstalk organizers then cut it close on paying the Waterfront Park permit fee, but The Oregonian reported that the fee was paid in time to proceed:
Hempstalk festival organizers paid the Portland Parks Bureau nearly $17,000 on Wednesday for a permit to use Tom McCall Waterfront Park this weekend.
With a Thursday deadline nearing, the marijuana-and-hemp celebration had been in doubt. Now, Parks Bureau spokesman Mark Ross said, it’s on.
Organizer Paul Stanford said Wednesday morning that coordinators of the free-admission event are cramming seven months of work into about a month.
As always, Hempstalk will be jam-packed with great speakers and live music. Marijuana Politics blogger Ngaio Bealum will be an MC for the event. Our editor, and New Approach Oregon Director, Anthony Johnson, who co-authored and served as Chief Petitioner of the Measure 91 legalization law, will be speaking on Saturday at 4:45pm. Our blogger, Cyd Maurer, former KEZI TV news anchor turned cannabis activist extraordinaire, will be speaking just under an hour later at 5:40pm. Sunday’s highlights include federal medical cannabis patient Elvy Musikka and a 6:00pm performance by Los Marijuanos This year’s Hempstalk will provide an opportunity for area advocates and enthusiasts to celebrate how far Oregon has come improving marijuana laws, while also providing necessary information on how to protect the gains made and to improve the law in the Great Northwest and across the nation.
