Pubdate: Wed, 23 May 2007 Source: Seattle Weekly (WA) Copyright: 2007 Seattle Weekly Contact: http://www.seattleweekly.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/410 Author: Jeff Landstrom FEST ORGANIZERS STONED? DEAR EDITOR: It is obvious that the Hempfest organizers hate real art. Anything that is not tie-dyed, paisley, painted on black velvet, or a hand-held glass "sculpture" that holds bong water is not worthwhile art to them. The Hempfest organizers cannot see through their marijuana-smoke-filled Volkswagen vans to see how th v is event is harming the Puget Sound environment. Sea lions, Orcas, endangered salmon runs, quack grass, and all other native vegetation that the Seattle Art Museum has gone to great expense to design, import, and strategically place is in imminent danger of being completely destroyed under the Birkenstocks of these eco-terrorists. Last year's "festival" did irreparable harm to rocks and logs that were torn from their natural habitat and relocated, just to make a wider entrance for more partygoers to overfill Myrtle Edwards Park. SAM has hired and paid the greatest architectural and environmental designers in the world to put together a sustainable and beautiful concrete, steel, and glass sculpture park that completely embodies the ideals that make Seattle one of the most progressive cities in the country. By illegally moving the rocks and logs from the locations that environmental-restoration experts created, Hempfest has done more than just cost SAM a few dollars in damages. It has upset the delicate balance of the waterfront that SAM has created for generations to come. It might be time to consider a new location capable of containing 563,374 people that would be less damaging to the environment. There are large, fairly unused portions of the state in Pend Oreille and Spokane counties that could easily accommodate this festival. The infrastructure that is already in place in towns like Cheney (should be plenty of places to find a drink in a college town), or the local penitentiary in Walla Walla, can accommodate all participants, bands, and speakers. There is a reason that the government has made marijuana illegal. It not only destroys lives, but, as all the organizers of Hempfest can attest, it destroys your mind and the ability to make rational decisions. JEFF LANDSTROM Seattle - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath