An enthusiastic crowd gathered under “Smoke ’em Bucky” banners for the 38th annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival in downtown Madison last weekend to protest the prohibition of marijuana and foster solidarity among fellow dissenters.?

The three-day-long festival began Friday night with a benefit concert at the Cardinal Bar and continued through the weekend. Speakers and bands vocalized their support Saturday in Library Mall to “end the war on drugs” and urged listeners to vote for change.

Madison Police Lt. Joe Balles acknowledged marijuana smoking does go on at the event, and while the protesters have every right to assemble peacefully, he noted the act is still illegal.?

“Smoking at this event is illegal, just as it’s supposed to be illegal on State Street or in dormitories,” Balles said.

However, Balles said actual enforcement can be difficult because the UW football game required police attention.?

“Any problems at this event will be dealt with, but we [had] a larger priority with 100,000 people coming to town for the Ohio State game,” Balles said.?

On Sunday, protesters paraded from Library Mall to the Capitol to show support of legislation that legalizes — or “de-criminalizes” — marijuana.?

Protesters listed a multitude of reasons as to why they thought marijuana should be legalized, including medical purposes, personal rights, helping solve global warming and stimulating the economy.?

“I think they should legalize marijuana to eliminate national debt,” said Linda Ellen, a festival volunteer of 35 years. “Right now, pot sales are unregulated, but we could tax it and prison costs would also go down.”?

Speakers also noted the many useful aspects of the cannabis plant. Agua Das, who runs a business that sells legal, THC-free hemp ice cream and hemp-based baked goods to health stores, said the plant provides “food, fiber, fuel and freedom.”

“Canada has had a hemp agriculture for the last seven to eight years,” said Susan Squibb, Das’ co-worker. “If their teenagers had started sitting destitute on the streets, I think [Canadians] would have done something about that law by now.”?

Peter Steinburg, a leading attorney and advocate for marijuana rights in the Madison area, said one of the main reasons for marijuana being illegal is that it cuts down on social productivity.

“It would make much more sense to outlaw alcohol,” Steinburg said in his speech at the rally Saturday.

Steinburg also declared that it was “an outrage” that legalized marijuana was not part of the Democratic platform and insisted “the time to demand the end of the drug war is today.”?

This year’s theme for the festival was “Vote,” which veteran organizer Ben Masel said is important in every election year, both nationally and at the state level.

“For students, we are really pushing them to vote [for a marijuana-friendly assembly] in their parents’ district,” said Masel. “While we have a friendly assembly here, we’re focusing on flipping it in other areas of Wisconsin.”

According to Masel, who was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time, the festival first started in the fall of 1971 in response to a series of marijuana raids and has been going ever since.?