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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Russia: Hemp Fest educates the public on economic awarness
Lynsi Burton Daily Evergreen
Monday 24 Apr 2006 People of all ages were out in the sun at East City Park in Moscow. They were playing frisbee and hacky sack, walking their dogs and shopping at the stands full of brightly-colored crafts. There was a folk band on the stage, whose audience sat to listen on haystacks or danced in the grass. This was the scene at Moscow‘s Hemp Fest on Saturday, a festival with the purpose of education on hemp, the fiber derived from the cannabis plant. The focus of the event was the industrial use of hemp and the issue of medical marijuana, said Arlene Falcon, organizer of Hemp Fest. Vendors from across the Northwest sold several hemp-related products, such as clothing, jewelry, lotions and soaps. There were also speakers who discussed the history of hemp, food vendors and musical performers. Hemp Fest was started in 1996 by a University of Idaho student who felt passionate about hemp-related issues, said Falcon. It is now a student-run organization out of the Associated Students of UI. Although Hemp Fest is geared toward the industrial use of hemp, it is often construed as a celebration of marijuana, Falcon said. "You see a lot of paraphernalia [at Hemp Fest, which sends] mixed messages,“ she said. "We want to look at the total picture.“ One of the vendors, Melody Croft, sat weaving willow baskets as shoppers walked by wearing hemp necklaces. Her husband, Jim Croft, had just finished giving a demonstration on how to turn hemp into fiber. In addition to her handmade willow baskets, she also sold handmade clothes sewn with hemp fiber, and displayed a tri-fold on the history and uses of hemp. "I‘ve had great conversations with people concerning hemp and its industrial uses,“ Croft said. Hemp and marijuana are two different products of the same plant. Hemp cannot be used to get high, but it has several uses that are beneficial to the environment. "It‘s extremely environmentally friendly,“ Falcon said. She explained that the hemp plant is sustainable, and all of it is used. The seed and oil can be used as nutrients, and the stock can be made to used paper and fiber. Because of the environmental advantages, Falcon said she felt it was appropriate that Hemp Fest took place on Earth Day this year. "I wanted to do more to bring out the relationship between Hemp Fest and Earth Day,“ she said. —It‘s so interrelated with Earth Day issues.“
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