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THE METROPOLITAN APRIL 17, 2008 INSIGHT A9

THE

METROPOLITANSince 1979

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

David D. Pollandpollan@mscd.edu

MANAGING EDITOR

Andrew Flohr-Spence

spencand@mscd.edu

NEWS EDITOR

Amy Woodwardawoodwa5@mscd.edu

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

James Krugerjkruger1@mscd.edu

FEATURES EDITOR

Joe Vaccarellijvaccare@mscd.edu

MUSIC EDITOR

Jeremy Johnsonjjohn308@mscd.edu

SPORTS EDITOR

Eric Lansinglansing@mscd.edu

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Zac Taylorztaylor2@mscd.edu

PHOTO EDITOR

Cora Kempckemp4@mscd.edu

ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS

Kristi Denkekdenke@mscd.eduDawn Madura

dmadura@mscd.edu

ILLUSTRATOR

Andrew Howertonahowert2@mscd.edu

COPY EDITORS

Austin Corellacorell@mscd.edu

Rob Fisherrfishe18@mscd.edu

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DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA

Dianne Harrison Millerharrison@mscd.edu

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF

STUDENT MEDIA

Donnita Wongwongd@mscd.edu

ADVISER

Jane Hoback

The Metropolitan is produced by and

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Tivoli Student Union, Room 313.

P.O. Box 173362, Campus B ox 57,

Denver, CO 80217-3362.

Hemp rally gives room to a new flavor

Too much news is bad for the

health, and as a confessed news junky

I should know. It is not only rummag-

ing through such distasteful content

that shortens the news junkies life,

but the true danger of news is a rare

phenomenon called the apocalyptic

light bulb of doom. Even in the most

mundane story there lurks a mysteri-

ous and powerful danger.

And so it was for me this last

weekend. Partaking in my Sunday

ritual of spending at least two good

hours with the weeks headlines, I

was sitting at my computer, listening

to music and drinking sweet gulps of

my tasty coffee beverage, when the

light appeared above my head.

Choking on my coffee, I immedi-

ately sat up in my chair. The burn-

ing ember from my cigarette fell into

my lap, causing me to quickly spread

my legs which then sent my right toeagainst the computers start button.

Bending forward to find the ash, I

then knocked over my coffee.

The flickering screen and the mu-

sic quickly shut down, and the room

was silent but for the sounds of drip-

ping and the strange man crawling

and cursing on the floor. And all be-

cause of the price of grain in Haiti.

Protests against an almost 50

percent jump in food prices since a

year ago had developed into violence

and looting. Mobs tried to storm the

presidential palace, six people died,

including a UN police officer, 200

were reported injured and Prime

Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis was

forced to resign.

Of course, rioting in Haiti, I am

sad to say, is not particularly shock-

ing. Haiti is not known as the pictureof political tranquility. The country

seems to be either allergic to gov-

ernment or exceptionally short on

patience for corrupt and inefficient

politicians.

It was the realization that prices

here, too, had gone up and what I

read next that was the proverbial

radio in the bathwater, setting off a

chain reaction that almost set my

own house on fire.

The problem is not only Haitis.

Prices for all of the worlds basic

foodstuffs have recently gone through

the roof, according to scientists at a

world economic institute based in

Hamburg, Germany. Since October

2007, the price of long-grain white

rice has quadrupled. Corn has come

down slightly since peaking in March

at six times what it cost last year.

Wheat, soybeans, soy oil, coconut oil,

palm oil and sunflower oil have all

more than doubled. Only sugar, ac-

cording to the study, has stayed stable.

And the reaction has been fiery

around the world.

Senegal has seen large protests

recently, with the opposition party

leader, Abdoulaye Bathily calling the

prices a political time bomb. More

than 100 people died in several days

of rioting over food in Cameroon.

Egypt, after the price of bread went

up 40 percent and chicken went up

140 percent, also saw large mobs inthe street, forcing President Husni

Mubarak to announce the suspen-

sion of much of the countries rice

exports for 2007.

The list of countries that have

seen massive unrest is long. Indonesia,

the worlds third largest rice producer,

apparently isnt producing enough.

In Mexico, the cost of tortillas has in-

creased around four fold and Peru has

seen rioting mobs and a recent trade

agreement with the United States

blamed for the rising prices.

In response, the World Trade

Organization, the World Bank and

numerous relief agencies have

warned that the prices could endan-

ger growth, stability, democracy and

peace around the world. They blame a

string of poor harvests, the increased

demand of emerging economies such

as India and China, and the new use

of grains for alternative fuels.

Surely, the rioters will understand

when they show up at the gates and

the politicians explain that the food

was used to power the Mercedes and

SUVs of rich western countries?

Alas, right before angry peasants

stormed the royal palaces and toppled

the government, French Queen Marie

Antoinette, as the anecdote goes, rec-

ommended the poor eat cake if they

were unable to find bread.

Historians have since questioned

if the monarch actually said such anabsurdly out-of-touch thing, but no

one questions that the queen finally

lost her head to the guillotine. The

starving masses, it seems, were not

debating history at that time. They

were hungry and pissed.

Indeed, numerous heads have

rolled into the old basket of history be-

cause the people couldnt afford to eat.

Revolutions ignite, empires rise and

fall, wars are fought and governments

collapse all because of food. Explana-

tions, at that point, are too late.

Anger and the price of grain

ANDREW FLOHR-

SPENCE

spencand@mscd.edu

April 20 is the anniversary of

the Columbine High School shoot-

ing. It is also Hitlers birthday, the

date of the failed Bay of Pigs inva-

sion and back in 1914, the Ludlow

Massacre happened on the twen-

tieth of April. Indeed, much like

many of the other mournful holi-

days America has racked up over

the years, doom and gloom seem to

happen on April 20.

Perhaps no other day is in suchneed of emotional and political over-

haul. And this is exactly the reason

to come out and party this Sunday at

Civic Center Park. If you can avoid

the buy-one-get-one-free sales of-

fers at every local pipe and gift store,

there will be sweet skunky smoke in

the air.

Plenty of mystery surrounds the

origins of the street term 420, but it

is a calling similar to the Jesus fish or

Batmans spotlight. It means hey

man, are you cool? in that Dazed

and Confused kind of way. Its on

clothing lines, bumper stickers, craig-

slist roommate ads and even panhan-

dler signs. The point is, to quote Place-

bo, A friend in need is a friend indeed,

but a friend with weed is better. And

mostly nobody talks about it.

The police will be there, just like

last year, but they seem to respect

the local rules. They only bothered

people they knew personally and the

kids who are too young to be at such

a place without parents. Although

District 6 put on a hell of a show, last

years middle-of-the-week rally was

tame enough to keep officers in their

cars. The smoke was seen from offices

outside the park, but the outcome

was substandard. The show of force

seemed to keep the crowd from grow-ing much.

The murder of local marijuana

kingpin Ken Gorman, unspoken

host of p ast rallies, will give room to

a new flavor this year. Instead of a

hotheaded activist yelling at those

pussies in the Capitol, a whole new

crowd will come around when the

hemp rally shifts from Gormans

high-schoolers to Denvers Medical

Marijuana Community.

The Hemp and Cannabis Foun-

dation (THCF), a Wheatridge-based

clinic, has moved to end the under-

ground spirit of the rally and make

it something more educational. Dis-

pensaries, doctor information, hemp

food, head shops, radio stations and

a body painter are planned as guests

for the rally. 2008 is the first year the

mayors office has approved a hemp

rally in Denvers history.

Medical marijuana patient Holly

G. Conrad of THCF did the footwork

for this years permit, expecting

around 2,000 people. Conrad helps

nearly 100 patients get their medi-

cal marijuana cards every month,

but hopes everyone will attend the

festival this Sunday. Facilities will

be provided by the city, the welcome

blue string of porta-poties displayed

at many of the parks other yearly

gatherings.

The hemp rally and its support-

ers are trying to shed the rebellious

reputation most respectable people

feel about cannabis. The gay rights

movement has shown Civic Center

Park some of the most flamboyant

festivals its ever had, and 35 years

ago it was just a dream. THCF is try-

ing to get control of the cannabis

movement, and things tend to work

better when they are organized.

Regardless of the mood of things,

smoking marijuana in public is still

illegal. Chances are good that it will

happen, but THCF and Safer Alterna-

tive For Enjoyable Recreation want

everyone to know you are commit-

ting a crime if you partake in public.The penalty for possession of pot in

Denver is $100, but the real danger is

in paraphernalia.

College-aged people are pushing

the marijuana movement, as they

have been since the 1960s, but for

some reason college students arent

doing much. Despite the signature

turnout at Metro for legalizing

ganja, most students didnt bother

to vote. A rally is almost as good as

a vote, and you dont have to stand

in line. The rewards are the won-

derful smell of natures oldest nar-

cotic, plus frozen treats from Hemp

I Scream and a possible visit from

the cheesecake lady. Only when the

park is full of Metro students will we

have done our civic duty. Join me at

the park at 4:20, and well see what

the buzz is about.

J. ISAAC SMALL

jsmall4@mscd.edu

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