Arlene Falcon, owner of local business Tye Dye Everything, has managed Moscow Hemp Fest since 2006 – yet the event has evolved since it was founded in 1996, Falcon said.
“It started with this guy, Shawn, who made hemp bracelets and eventually started Hemp Fest,” she said.
Saturday afternoon, University of Idaho and Moscow community members, including kilt-clad men, young children and an assortment of dogs, gathered in East City Park to enjoy psychedelic rock and celebrate cannabis culture for Moscow”s 20th Hemp Fest.
Austin Maas | Argonaut
Arlene Falcon, who owns local business Tye Dye Everything, organized the 20th Annual Hemp Fest.
Present were several local businesses and independent vendors, as well as local bands including the Charcoal Squids and Mother Yeti, who voiced their support of the festival and its message.
Falcon said when the festival was founded, the event mainly focused on hemp, but as the legalization of medical marijuana became increasingly popular, the focus of the event began to shift.
Falcon said nowadays, “It”s all about information and advocacy.”
One advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana, Denise Fall, said she believed cannabis oil played a key role in curing her cancer.
“I really think it helped me,” Fall said. “As soon as I started using the cannabis oil I could feel my lump getting smaller and smaller.”
Fall said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014, and began using cannabis oil a week prior to her chemotherapy treatments. In combination with her chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Fall said the cannabis oil help her become cancer free by Nov. 2014.
“The doctor was amazed at how good my numbers were,” Fall said. “If it was up to me I would have only used cannabis oil instead of chemo and radiation.”
Fall said, as someone who grew up in the “70s, she never consumed marijuana prior to her treatment, and her experience has led her to a new understanding.
“I”m going to do everything I can to get it legalized here in Idaho,” Fall said.
Falcon said as the event grows, she hopes to begin affecting change in Idaho legislature. She said in order to get medical marijuana on a ballot, they must receive 40,000 signatures on a petition.
Falcon said in the past the petition had reached over 20,000 signatures but had to be withdrawn due to an “endorsement issue.” She said there will soon be another petition to sign which she hopes will reach the necessary 40,000 signatures.
“People think, “Oh, well I”ve already signed that,”” she said. “But it”s important to know that it”s a new one.”
Austin Maas can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @austindmaas