[420 Girl]

This Saturday, the University of Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (CRC) will host the 18th annual Extravaganja festival on the Amherst town commons.

The highly anticipated event will include a number of musical performances as well as political speakers advocating marijuana legalization. There will also be a number of food and other vendors, contests and puppet shows. In the past, the event has attracted over 2,000 people.

The festival is one of the largest marijuana advocacy gatherings in New England. What sets Extravaganja apart from other similar festivals has traditionally been the environment where people can enjoy the musical performances and smoke freely on the town commons.

Although the Amherst Police Department has made no official statement regarding their involvement, the general consensus from third parties is that they turn the other cheek. Heather McCormack, president of the Cannabis Reform Coalition at UMass, said that they have always had an understanding with the Amherst Police regarding Extravaganja.

“What the police want is a violence-free event, which we provide every year,” said McCormack. “They also don’t want a lot of anti-cop sentiment.”

This year’s Extravaganja marks the first year that attendees will be able to light up without the added threat of arrest, due to the November’s approval of Proposition 2, which decriminalized marijuana in Massachusetts.

Alex Arsenault, treasurer of the CRC, said the new decriminalization law will make this year’s festival different.

“I feel like the fear and paranoia factor is going to be completely gone this year,” said Arsenault. “Hopefully that means a lot more people will show up to the event.”

Lt. Robert Young with the Amherst Police Department insisted that there are no outside agreements with the CRC to allow smoking on the town commons.

“We do not have the ability to make an agreement with anyone to violate the law,” said Young. “Even though marijuana possession has been decriminalized, it is not lawful to possess or sell.”

Although the festival is primarily geared towards pot-smokers and advocates of legalization, it has been a major attraction due to the eclectic lineup of musical performances as well. The wide assortment of local bands will feature genres ranging from hip-hip to reggae and rock to punk music.

“It’s just jam-packed with awesomeness this year,” said McCormack, who will be hosting the event with her own band, Solo Sexx.

Last year’s festival drew over a crowd of over 2,000, who packed into the confines of Amherst’s town commons. With Saturday’s forecast projecting sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80s, this year’s festival is primed to set new records.

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