I am writing this letter after seeing Bill Conde's sign on Interstate 5 announcing his annual World Hemp Festival in July, which takes place on his private property near Harrisburg. The sign announces the name and dates of the festival, and then states: "War on Drugs is Treason."

What a brave man! Here he has been harassed, year after year, by the police, who went to the trouble and taxpayer expense of showing up uninvited and undercover at the festival last year. He has been publicly pressured to give up supporting his beliefs and if he had been able to sell his lumber business, would have moved to Belize last year. But through it all, he stuck to his principles and is going ahead with the festival again this year, a real slap in the face to law enforcement officials who apparently have too much time on their hands. Now here is a real American, true to the spirit of our foreparents, who in their wisdom foresaw the dangers inherent in a police state and sought to prevent it with the Constitution.

I admire Conde. He is a rarity in this spineless town. He is an inspiration to the rest of us who may cower all too quickly in the face of moralistic hysteria.

Suzanne Levinson

Eugene

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