[420 Girl]

STARKS -- Fire twirlers. Hula hoopers. Giant puppets. Pirates singing sea chanteys.
Harry's Harvest Ball will have entertainment to spare today through Sunday. The festival, located at Harry Brown's Farm at 43 Abijah Hill Road, will benefit organizations that support the Nov. 3 ballot initiative to expand the current law to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients. Those organizations include the Maine Medical Marijuana Initiative and Maine Citizens for Patients' Rights.

"The site of the festival has been a center of resistance to immoral and unjust drug laws for a long time," said Jonathan Leavitt, of Sumner. He is one of the founders of Cowpasture Productions, which organized the festival. Harry Brown, who runs the farm, offered his land for the festival, to move Question 5 forward, Leavitt said. The festival will begin at 8 a.m. today and end at 3 p.m. Sunday.

With more than 30 performers, including bands such as Jerks of Grass, Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers, Lazzlo and The Brew, the festival will advocate for "Yes on 5," a campaign to increase the number of conditions for which a physician may prescribe marijuana and to allow for the creation of nonprofit dispensaries.

A bill to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes was passed in 1999. The new initiative would expand the law to prohibit police confiscation of reasonable amounts of medical marijuana from qualified patients, Leavitt said. It would increase the number of conditions for which marijuana may be prescribed. It would allow patients and their caregivers to grow small amounts of marijuana for medicinal use under specified conditions. And it would establish nonprofit dispensaries to provide marijuana to patients who do not grow their own.

Leavitt predicted the law would pass. "This is going to be an important victory for patients and their access to medicine," he said.

The new law would not change the penalties for the criminal use, possession, cultivation, distribution or sale of marijuana, according to the Maine Citizens for Patients' Rights' Web site.

So far there is no formal opposition to Question 5, but Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said she opposes the ballot question for several reasons, according to a report published in September. She questioned the effectiveness of marijuana to treat certain medical conditions, and expressed concern about making the drug more readily available. Marijuana is illegal on a federal level for a reason, she said.

The three-day festival will feature fire twirlers, jugglers, stilt walkers, hula hoopers, belly dancers, giant puppets and bonfires. Herbalists, dancers and puppeteers will teach workshops; artists will create paintings and sculptures. At night, there will be a masquerade ball. Festival organizers are inviting people to bring tents, drums and food. There will be no alcohol, glass or dogs permitted.

"We want full engagement," Leavitt said. "That's what we look for in our festivals. We want people to enjoy all different styles of music from around the globe. We want folks to see great dancers and huge puppets and circus performers. We hope people come to build a community for three days, to take care of each other."

All ballot questions are available at Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions :: Elections Division upcoming.html.

A list of performers is available on the Harry's Harvest Ball Web site: Harry's Festivals Home Page.


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