For many years, marijuana and marijuana-based products had been vilified and demonized by the uninformed policymakers and citizenry across the United States. As more and more information arose on the safety and even health benefits of cannabis and cannabis-derived foods and products, little by little some of America’s leading lawmakers have begun to question the age-old aversion to marijuana. With the active participation of artists and advocates, the country has started to rethink its unfounded negative beliefs about this wonder herb.
Championing the cause to make to make marijuana legal – the country celebrates the annual National Cannabis Festival in Washington DC.
Celebrating the leaps and bounds made by some of the county’s strongest allies and advocates of cannabis legalization, the cannabis community is once again conducting the National Cannabis Festival on 18 April 2020 at the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington DC.
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A day filled with music and performances; the festival will feature notable artists who also advocate the good cause of ultimately making marijuana legal in all corners of America. The April 2020 Concert lineup announcement is still not yet announced. But, judging by the artists lineup in 2019, which included Ludacris, the 2020 National Cannabis festival will draw in inspiring talents.
Aside from the concert, the whole festival will feature a series of Cannatalk that will tackle wins and challenges in the nation’s bid to make cannabis legal. This will be an amazing venue to get to know your community and talk about the advocacies of the coalition and how you can contribute to the efforts done to legalize marijuana in the country. The event will hold an Exhibitor Fair where local and national brands of cannabis products will be featured. Visitors can sample amazing cannabis-infused food products at the Munchies Zone. The Festival will also feature Session Selector, Munchies Zone, Veteran’s Lounge and, as it has been the annual tradition, also a Wedding.
Looking back at the very start, the National Cannabis Festival was born from the meeting of the minds of a group of cannabis policy advocates, activists, business owners and enthusiasts in 2015. The aim was to celebrate, what was done, some of the most historic progress done in the legalization of marijuana in Washington D.C. and the rest of America. Caroline Phillips led the group and started a crowdfunding to source out the budget for the initiative.
Indiegogo, the US-based crowdfunding company that helps people connect with their communities to gather funds to provide a gentle push for good ideas, charities, or start-up business, raised a total of $21,232 from various sectors and advocacy groups to bring the idea of National Cannabis Festival a reality. With marijuana being celebrated more openly in states in the West Coast, Caroline Philips explained in her Indiegogo page that it was time to provide a similar venue for East Coast cannabis community to celebrate, advocate and fight for continuous progress in marijuana legalization. She wrote, “We wanted to put together a festival to give the east coast community a place and platform to recognize the spirit of the cannabis movement and the non-profit groups that fight every day to end cannabis prohibition.”
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A year after, on April 23, 2016, thousands avid members of the cannabis community, not only from the East Coast, but also from all over the USA and overseas participated in the festival. The day was filled with music and performances from some of the biggest artists of the time. They also included a vendor village were cannabis entrepreneur were provided the space to introduce their products to their growing consumer base. The vendor village, which acted as the Festival’s marketplace attracted local and national brand names. The advocacy village was established in the Festival to open up the more serious side to the advocacy. The advocacy village provided the venue for the attendees to meet the organizers of the festival as well as learn how they can contribute better to the efforts being done to legalize marijuana in communities. The education pavilion became the platform to exchange learnings and information on various aspects of cannabis including the cause as well as best practices in cultivating marijuana and other important topics relevant to the cannabis lifestyle. Lastly, marijuana food and beverages were sold around the festival.
This year, the cannabis community continues the tradition to celebrate, advocate, and promote the legalization of consumption and trade of marijuana and marijuana-based products in the US. The National Cannabis Festival will once again provide platform and venue for the voices of reason to be heard. The Festival is an incredible opportunity for every marijuana advocate and enthusiasts to join hands in display of defiance to the still ongoing prohibition of marijuana in many states of the country. However, let us not forget that it is also a day to remember and to celebrate the progress that the whole community has made to make marijuana legal.
At the moment, the medical use of marijuana is legal with doctor’s order in 33 states, four of the five US territories, and Washington DC. On the other hand, the recreational use of cannabis is legal in Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Washington DC, and US territories of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.
Thanks to the internet, people now can not only buy cannabis strains but also high-quality seeds from online banks to grow on their own
There are still a lot of ground to cover. The fight has just started and we, as a community, cannot take this very lightly. We need to strike while the iron is still hot.
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If you have not yet participated in any festival or event that celebrates marijuana legalization, then perhaps it is now your chance to make your voice heard. Alone, you are powerless to make a sweeping change, not only in the laws of the country, but also in the consciousness of the ordinary people. Through the National Cannabis Festival, the members of the whole cannabis community join forces to strengthen the advocacy, expand the best practices, and bridge the gaps in efforts done to end the prohibition of marijuana use and selling in the United States of America.
