Hash Bash draws crowd of 5,000 people to the University of Michigan Diag

A large crowd gathered on the University of Michigan Diag for a rally to kick of the beginning of Hash Bash in Ann Arbor, Mich. on April 3, 2010.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

The Hash Bash is back.

Hampered in recent years by waning interest and uncooperative weather, the first-weekend-of-April marijuana fest drew about 5,000 to the heart of downtown Ann Arbor Saturday.

Before the weekend, emcee Adam Brook said weather, more than any other factor, would determine the size of the weekend's crowd. The weather didn't disappoint, reaching 70 degrees by noon before rain and wind set in at 1:30 p.m.

Diane Brown, a spokeswoman with the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety, said the crowd was larger than usual - but no problems occurred.

Campus officers made 10 arrests Saturday, all for marijuana possession. One was a U-M student, Brown said.

The penalty for smoking pot at the Hash Bash varies greatly between campus and city property. On city property, getting caught with a joint means a $25 fine; on state property, it's up to a year in jail.

Most hash bashers wait until the Monroe Street Fair on city streets to toke up. But now that Michigan has a medical marijuana program allowing upward of 10,000 patients to smoke marijuana under the protection of state law, many others in the crowd took the liberty to smoke, whether on university property or not.

The Hash Bash began with a "High Noon" rally on the Diag. From the steps of the Hatcher Graduate Library, Brook explained that campus police enforce state law, not the more liberal Ann Arbor statute.

From left: Michigan Medical Marijuana Certification Center employees Robby Samson, Tony Ascenzo, and Brenna Bunner talk to those wishing to become medical marijuana patients on Monroe St. during Hash Bash in Ann Arbor, Mich. on April 3, 2010.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Minutes later, Brook asked the medical marijuana patients in attendance to pull out their cards and their marijuana. Not only did registered patients smoke with impunity, so too did many healthy-looking young people.

After an hour of speakers, including John Sinclair, the Hash Bash headed south to the Monroe Street Fair. Vendors and a sound stage lined Monroe Street, and hundreds of people passed marijuana in ciphers on the lawn southeast of the Law Quad.

Now that marijuana has been approved for medicinal use in Michigan and in 12 other states, many at Saturday's event pushed for full-blown legalization.

"California should be the model," said James Peters of Decker, Mich. "They're talking about legalizing it outright - why should you have to be a patient to smoke?"

Tommy Cummings of Westland said he was surprised Michigan even got to the point of legalizing medical marijuana. Michigan is the only midwestern state that currently allows medical marijuana. California, which pioneered medical marijuana in 1996, is rallying momentum for a ballot initiative to legalize pot.

"Who could've ever guessed it would get to this point?" Cummings asked. "Why stop now - why not legalize it altogether? Look around. It happens anyway."