Pubdate: Sat, 07 Dec 2013
Source: Corvallis Gazette-Times (OR)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Press
Contact: https://gazettetimes-dot-com.bloxcms.com/app/forms/contact/letters/
Website: http://www.gazettetimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2976
Authors: Gene Johnson and Manuel Valdes, Associated Press

PARTY CELEBRATES WASHINGTON POT ANNIVERSARY

(AP) - Crowds of people bundled in winter coats celebrated the 
anniversary of marijuana legalization in Washington state Friday by 
sparking up at a city-sanctioned party under Seattle's Space Needle.

Marijuana activist Ben Livingston said it took him three months to 
persuade city officials to grant him a permit for the party marking 
the anniversary of the day the legal pot law took effect. It began at 
4:20 p.m., with a line of people streaming into a big tent that 
quickly filled with a marijuana haze.

Partygoers wished each other a happy anniversary and chanted, "Thank 
you, Washington!"

Jay Zozh, who moved to the state less than a month ago, marveled as 
the crowd passed around a foot-long joint.

"If we were all in Texas, we'd be arrested and charged with felonies," he said.

The free event, capacity 999, was set up behind a double perimeter 
fence at Seattle Center, with the pot smoking blocked from public 
view. Hundreds were expected to attend throughout the event.

"I want to make the point that cannabis consumers are good people, 
and we should be treated equally with other people when trying to 
utilize city facilities," Livingston said.

The party was being held near Key Arena, where Pearl Jam was ending a 
North American tour, and Livingston extended an open invitation to 
the band's fans to swing by on their way to or from the show.

The Winterfest holiday lighting celebration, a Pacific Northwest 
Ballet performance of the Nutcracker, and a Seattle Children's 
Theatre staging of "James and the Giant Peach" were also taking place 
Friday night at the Seattle Center campus.

Those events didn't jibe so well with a big pot party, according to 
some drug abuse prevention groups. Nine people sent a letter to the 
Seattle Center, the City Council and the mayor, asking the event be 
canceled. Among the signatories were Dr. Leslie R. Walker, chief of 
adolescent medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital, and Derek 
Franklin, president of the Washington Association for Substance Abuse 
and Violence Prevention.

"Seattle Center is a poor location for the party considering it takes 
place during Winterfest, a family-friendly event, and among popular 
venues that cater to children and their families," the letter said.

Livingston responded by noting that the family-friendly Winterfest 
has a beer tent, which no one protested.

Seattle Center spokeswoman Deborah Daoust said the pot party was 
permitted by the city, and it's the center's role to help ensure it's 
a success.

The party featured several informational vendors who helped to offset 
the party's estimated $11,000 cost, but Livingston hoped to recoup 
the rest of the balance through poster sales and donations.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom