Pubdate: Fri, 4 Apr 2008
Source: Michigan Daily (U of MI, Edu)
Copyright: 2008 The Michigan Daily
Contact: http://www.michigandaily.com/letters/
Website: http://www.michigandaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/582
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Hash+Bash
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/John+Sinclair
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

GROWING A POT MOVEMENT

Tomorrow's Hash Bash Needs a Student Revival

Even though it is now dominated by aging hippies and stunted by 
underwhelming turnout, Hash Bash is one of Ann Arbor's most 
recognizable traditions with one of its most important messages. 
Instead of a half-baked celebration of marijuana culture, the event 
is supposed to be a protest against America's unnecessary and 
counterproductive marijuana laws. In this 37th year, students and 
activists should seize this opportunity to return Hash Bash to its 
roots - potentially with help of one of the event's key figures.

The story of Hash Bash began in 1969 with the absurd. Arrested for 
possession of two joints, Hill Street resident John Sinclair was 
sentenced to prison for nine and a half to 10 years in prison under 
Michigan's draconian drug laws. Two years later, students and Ann 
Arborites rallied together for a "Free John Now Rally" at Crisler 
Arena. The event showcased the who's-who of left-leaning artists, 
including legends John Lennon and Stevie Wonder. Three days after the 
rally, the Michigan Supreme Court released Sinclair, striking down 
Michigan's marijuana laws as unconstitutional.

When the state legislature replaced the laws with more lenient (but 
still unnecessary) drug laws, activists responded in protest - a 
tradition that continues on the first Saturday of every April. 
Unfortunately, apathy - and bad weather - have extinguished much of 
Hash Bash's atmosphere on its last few anniversaries. Few students 
attend the event, and instead locals who remember the glory days when 
15,000 people packed Crisler Arena to free Sinclair fill the Diag.

But it shouldn't be that way. Grassroots efforts like Hash Bash are a 
major reason for Ann Arbor's lenient marijuana laws, and should be a 
continued priority. Here, marijuana possession is considered a 
misdemeanor, with a $25 penalty for a first offense, $50 for a second 
and a $100 for all subsequent offenses. Further, because of a 2004 
ballot initiative, medical marijuana is legal in the city, at least 
according to the city code. Both of these are positive reforms that 
shouldn't be kept inside the bubble of Ann Arbor.

Nationwide, our strict marijuana laws continue to make little sense - 
with criminalization causing much more harm than legalization ever 
would. In 2005 alone, it was estimated that more than 600,000 arrests 
were made in connection with the marijuana market. Billions of 
dollars go to arresting, processing and prosecuting anyone with 
marijuana, from casual smokers to dealers. These people crowd 
America's already-jammed jails and prisons, contributing to America's 
status as the world leader in incarceration rates. And all of this 
for a drug that is no more damaging than cigarettes or alcohol and 
certainly not a threat to public safety or health.

At tomorrow's Hash Bash, the event's 37th anniversary, Sinclair may 
return to Ann Arbor from his home in Amsterdam to revitalize the 
event. But the movement to change America's illogical drug laws will 
need more than an aging hippie to spearhead the effort. Students 
should turn out tomorrow at "high noon" for Hash Bash - not as an 
excuse to wear that T-shirt with a pot leaf on it and get high, but 
because the Diag can be a place to make a difference.  
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake