2014 Seattle Hempfest speech

After attending Seattle Hempfest for the first time in 2013, I decided that I wanted to apply to become a speaker for 2014. At first, I thought I was only speaking on Friday, but when I checked the final schedule, it turned out I was speaking all three days.

Hence why this only has Friday's time/place 

(For those of you who are curious: Friday [08/15] at 2:50 on Ralph Seeley, Saturday [08/16] at 11:50 on Share Parker Main, and Sunday [08/17] at 1:35 on Peter McWilliams.)

I knew that I wanted to cover marijuana and hemp legalization from a slightly different perspective. The speakers who talk about activism (the few who actually do...) usually talk about tangible benefits from legalization and repercussions of prohibition. There is definitely nothing wrong with those arguments (I would hope not, since I wrote not only one, but two articles on this blog exploring some of them [although from a broader "War on Drugs" perspective]). However, I wanted to cover it from a more moral perspective.

As for the actual speech, I had not spoken in front of an audience for a while and knew I would be rusty. On Friday, I decided to read off my paper. I did not like doing that because I did not have the time to rehearse it much and by looking at the paper, it cut off a good portion of my connection with the audience. Saturday felt much better when I spoke of points I remembered from my written speech. On Sunday, I had to get from Bremerton to Seattle, then rush from the south entrance to the McWilliams Stage, barely making it on time (technically, I did not make it on time, but thankfully between band sets when the speakers go on). With no time to rehearse (and overthink) and being onstage twice that weekend, I felt the connectivity even more-so.

This is more-or-less what my speech(es) consisted of:

"Hello everyone, and Happy Hempfest! My name is Katrina Haffner, here on behalf of Students For Liberty and Students for Sensible Drug Policy to educate you all on not only why but how to get. I have to admit that when I first found out I was accepted as a speaker, my first thought was, “How do I deliver a speech to a bunch of high people?” Last year was my first time coming to an event like this, and while I immensely enjoyed it, I could not help but notice that there is a general sense of apathy towards activism by the attendees. Spring of 2013, I had stepped up to become the president of Western Washington University’s chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. While I was familiar with drug policy, I would not say I was well-versed in it, and it was definitely an issue I cared about, but I really did need to brush up on my understanding of it. Last summer, I decided to come to Hempfest to learn more about marijuana policy and to network. When I told some of my friends this, they laughed and told me, “Katrina, there is literally nothing to do there but smoke weed.” Just to note, I’m not much of a smoker, so that’s why they laughed. I was disappointed because I somewhat believed them since they’d actually been there, but I decided to go anyways.

"Oh boyyyy, were they wrong. I mean, sure, when I finally came here, I started wondering if there was such a thing as a secondhand high. However, there turned out to be quite a few activism and learning opportunities. I concluded the problem is not that these opportunities are not presented and available, but that not many people cared to become more involved with the legalization movement.

"Just because I-502 passed does not mean that all is well now, no – not even in Washington. We have that crazy active-THC blood level limit portion of the law and other practices that negatively affect medical patients. Unlike Colorado, adults cannot grow their own plants. Unlike Colorado, Washington still cannot cultivate and process industrial hemp. One of the only good reasons I can find for I-502’s enactment into law is that there have been so many arrests that have been prevented. When has smoking pot or using hemp products hurt anyone? Even if you were to use the argument that it hurts those who use it, keep in mind…it is our own choice to do what we want with our lives and with our bodies.

"Some of you have probably heard that the United States has only 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. Did you know that over half a million people were arrested in 2012 for marijuana possession alone in the US? Home of the free? [Beat] Not only has our government violated our individual agency, but it has drastically changed some people’s lives…and not for the better. Despite the similarity of usage by people of all colors, Native Americans, blacks, and Hispanics are more likely to be searched for possession, arrested, and serve jail time. All for a nonviolent activity. Speaking of violence, many notable economists have contributed the prohibition of certain substances to the growth of violent black markets. Have you ever reported your drug dealer to the Better Business Bureau? What we see going on in Mexico is very similar to alcohol prohibition in the ‘20s. These people neither have the government nor the public keeping an eye on them, letting them get away with atrocious things.

"Now, I’m a Campus Coordinator for Students For Liberty. Liberty is very important to me. I want restrictions on hemp and marijuana to be lifted locally, nationally, and internationally. Do you all know what the good news is? By I-502 and Amendment 64 being enacted into law, we not only have the country, but the entire world, revisiting this issue. Why, it was only earlier this year that Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana. You are already doing your part by being here. Having this many people show up to a festival of this kind sends a message to the world. However, this is not all you could be doing. There are many political organizations who have booths or at the very least, activists, here. Talk to them! Talk to me, and I will help you go in the right direction. I understand that not everybody has the drive or time to become an activist, but there are still some small things pretty much anyone can do.

"It’s surprising how much of an impact a mere Facebook post has. I have had quite a few people tell me that their views on a certain topic had drastically changed because of an article I had once posted, and if I remember correctly, no one had liked or commented on it. I thought I was just one of those people who liked to bathe in their own intelligence, shouting to a brick wall. Keyboard activists sometimes get slack for not doing more, but social media is a great way to educate your friends and family. Do me a favor this weekend and go a step above what you normally do concerning marijuana and hemp activism. Have you never posted anything related to this topic on Facebook or Twitter? I would think most of you have smartphones – do it now! Is all what your activism comprised of is posting on social media? Go and talk to NORML or visit the Hemposium. Just to think that two years ago, I thought Hempfest was a tradeshow of industrial hemp wonders. Now, I am speaking on a stage – in Seattle – at Hempfest – about how to become more involved. You don’t need to be a stoner or a policy-enthusiast to want marijuana and hemp legalization. I’m a nonsmoking anthropology and theater major – how could anyone beat the oddity that? It does not matter how old you are, your nationality, your religion, and so on – because marijuana and hemp do not discriminate. Thank you."