Congressman Earl Blumenauer said Oregon could be the "explosion that breaks the dam" in allowing states to handle marijuana legalization during a speech at Saturday's

in downtown Portland.

was the keynote speaker at the rally, which comes amid several initiatives to get marijuana legalization measures on the November 2014 ballot. His brief remarks drew cheers and the ringing of a tambourine at a rally that saw several hundred people march and listen to speakers through intermittent rain.

Blumenauer called on government to "

reappraise what can be only described as a failed war on drugs." The current U.S.

approach

to marijuana legalization is an "upside down world," he added.

He also spoke about the importance of medical research on the effects of marijuana.

"We have to a do a better job of breaking the stranglehold of this pernicious classification," Blumenauer said.

Oregon should be at the forefront of making the call on legalization, Blumenauer said. He joked that Alaska, which will vote on legalization there in November, won't necessarily lead the way for other states: "I don't think the land of the midnight sun and Sarah Palin" is up to that, he said.

Blumenauer

telling the federal government to step aside on marijuana legalization and to allow states to chart their own course on the issue. He stuck to that message on Saturday, saying the federal government should "stop interfering with people's lives."

, KBOO Community Radio, and Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp sponsored the event, which featured speakers and music from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. During a march through downtown Portland, supporters chanted and help up all manner of signs encouraging marijuana legalization: Ranging from "if we all had a bong, we would all get along" to "Grow the economy."

Marijuana initiative signature gatherers, who face a July deadline, were out in full force.

's Jordynn Jimenez, the field director for the initiative, said the group had gathered about 600 signatures just in the first three hours of the rally.

The momentum is there, Jimenez said: "This is our going to be our year."

-- Katherine Driessen