The 73-year old national prohibition against cannabis is one of the dumbest and most venal of American laws in a country lousy with dumb and venal laws. Millions imprisoned, billions of dollars wasted on law enforcement, and the most uninformed lies dribbling out of the mouths of officials paid to perpetrate its illegality. In the ’90s, the medical-marijuana movement began to kick bricks from the Berlin Wall of Pothibition, and this November Californians will vote on whether or not to legalize it. We’ve come a long way, baby. As everyone, including the paid-off antipot prevaricators, knows by now, the hemp plant has many applications in addition to its psychoactive (i.e., fun and creativity-inducing) and medical properties. Not surprisingly in our entrepreneurial nation, an industry has grown around the various uses for hemp. This weekend’s 2nd Annual THC Expose has booths featuring hemp foods; hydroponic growing equipment; reggae historian Roger Steffens’ presentation on Marley and Tosh; comedian Tommy Chong; DJ Jim Ladd; and the debut of the new house organ THC Expose, a quarterly designed for “affluent and educated readers.” Food, fashion, music, movies and the Hemp Museum round out this uncloseting of a formerly underground culture.

Fri., April 23; Sat., April 24; Sun., April 25, 2010

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