That definitely sounds a little offensive, right? But if you knew the slogan was related to a marijuana sack, would it still bother you?
Security and PR at the Colorado Sky Sox stadium last Tuesday definitely thought so and asked those wearing the Weed Pimps T-shirts bearing this slogan to turn them inside out, or please leave.
They chose the latter.
Fifty or so medical marijuana patients, activists and family members attended the game as a group. Everything was fine until one member -- a cousin of Weed Pimps owner Dustin Rose -- was confronted by security en route to the concession stand, allegedly because of the slogan on his shirt.
He was alone at the time, but approximately thirty others in the group were wearing "Can You Smell My Sack?" shirts, too, although the words on the one worn by Rose's cousin were considerably larger than they appeared on the other garments.
According to Sky Sox spokesman Mike Hobson, cannabis-related clothing in itself is not something that will get you removed from the park. But in his view, that wasn't the issue."It was the phrase itself that was on his clothing that drew the attention of our security officers," Hobson says. "I'm not sure how it [the phrase] will pertain to the medical marijuana folks, but from our perspective, it certainly gives a different kind of connotation."
According to Weed Pimps' Rose, the slogan refers to a number one sativa strain grown in 2010.
"You could literally smell our sack no matter where you went," Rose said. "It was that potent."
Continue to read more about how the incident progressed. The group was there as part of a family night gathering with Weed Pimps Promotions -- something members do regularly.
"We like to have time with families, where we get out and it doesn't have anything to do with marijuana," Rose says.
After his cousin's exchange with security, Rose headed to the concession area with four others, including Audrey Hatfield, president of Coloradans 4 Cannabis Patient Rights. This quartet was also confronted and asked to cover their shirts. Rose refused to do so, while some of the others tried to comply, at least at first.
"There were three of us girls," Hatfield says. "We dropped all of our stuff and was just going to go ahead and turn our shirts inside out right there when we were threatened to be arrested for indecent exposure. And we told them, 'Well, we're not going to turn our shirts inside out,' so they escorted us out of the park."Hatfield also recorded videos of the incident; right now, they're only available on her Facebook page. The clips show both sides presenting their arguments, frequently talking over each other as they do so.
Rose can be heard asking questions like, "How come I have 75 other people that have 'Can you smell my sack?' on that are still here?" and "I am willing to leave happily, but I would like to come back and I would like to bring 100 people with me. Now, how can I do that without offending anybody and representing our company?"
One officer's response: "By not wearing that shirt."
Continue for more about the confrontation. The conversation caught on video goes back and forth for almost three minutes. Rose requests to speak with Sky Sox management and see the rules, and the security and police officers basically stonewall them and tell them no, they must leave.The other members of the group were not kicked out, even though many had on the Weed Pimps shirt, too. However, they were monitored after the incident.
"From what I heard from the people that stuck around, there were about ten security above the railing and below it," Rose says. "I'm not sure if they were trying to intimidate them or what the purpose of it was."
At this time, Hatfield is considering legal action against the Sky Sox. In the meantime, she and Rose want to stop what they see as profiling of marijuana users at the stadium.
Even so, Rose still wants to bring a Weed Pimps group back to future Sky Sox games.
"Everything that happened that night was wrong," he says. "But we would like to know how we can come back. Just with a compromise, so we aren't discriminated against."
For his part, Sky Sox spokesman Hobson is adamant that no one was removed from the game due to the theme of their attire.
"It really had nothing to do with their stance or their feelings on marijuana," he says. "We have no problem with someone wearing a marijuana leaf or something that expresses their pro-marijuana or medical-marijuana stance."
Unless, apparently, the slogan has to do with smelling their sack.
More from our Marijuana archive: "Marijuana: No public input before temporary Amendment 64 rules take effect July 1."
