Source: gainesville.com
After an 11-year hiatus, Hemp Fest is coming back to Gainesville on Saturday at noon -- “high noon.”
Dennis “Murli” Watkins, who served four months of jail time for orchestrating a “doobie toss” at the event in 1994, is bringing back what used to be an annual celebration of marijuana and a protest for its legalization.
Watkins said this year's edition will touch on other, even more controversial issues than legalizing pot.
“Hemp has been cultivated for thousands of years. Here it is almost 2012, and we're still fighting this same stupid battle,” he said. “9/11 was an inside job and they're worried about someone smoking a doobie. They've got to get their priorities in order.”
Watkins said there will be a “9/11 truth booth” set up at the event, which will be held on the city's Bo Diddley Community Plaza downtown.
He would not say whether the “doobie toss” -- where someone throws marijuana cigarettes into the air so they can rain down into the crowd -- would also be featured.
Police hope not.
Gainesville Police Department spokeswoman Angelina Valuri said there will be several officers on hand.
“If we have any issues regarding the possession of marijuana, it's more than likely going to equate to someone having a misdemeanor amount,” Valuri said. “We'll handle those incidents on a case-by-case basis.”
In Florida, possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis is considered a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail.
City spokesman Bob Woods said organizers, including Watkins and the Melbourne-based Florida Cannabis Action Network, paid $940 for use of the plaza between noon and 11:30 p.m.
In 2000, The Sun reported that organizers were predicting a crowd of 1,000.
On Saturday, 11 years later, Woods said the city is anticipating a crowd of 300.
Like Valuri, Woods said marijuana possession would still be considered a crime.
“We will continue to enforce all application laws,” he said.
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