4/20 pot protest morphs into chilled-out beach party
Vancouver’s annual 4/20 pot rally felt less like a protest and more like a beach party this year as revellers headed to English Bay to bake in the sun.
The move to Sunset Beach from its historic location outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, where construction is underway, seemed to have brought with it some welcome changes as organizers took to heart the many concerns of the city, park board, police and health officials.
And while the temperature reached 20 C, an ocean breeze kept tens of thousands of attendees cool as they puffed and passed.
Organizer Jodie Emery said she was proud of organizers’ efforts to ensure the event went smoothly at its new location.
“We faced opposition, and we still do, but I think we’re demonstrating that we can do this very safely and professionally, co-operatively with city officials, the parks board, police, fire and ambulance,” Emery said. “So it’s a great relief to see nothing but success.”
Last year’s event cost taxpayers around $90,000. Emery said her team raised around $97,000 for this year’s fest to pay for staging, security, fencing, an event medical team, cleanup crews, “roach stations” and more than 100 porta-potties.
Emery said the event would return to Sunset Beach next year.
Last year, 100 attendees visited St. Paul’s Hospital because of cannabis intoxication. The vast majority had consumed edible cannabis products.
This year, just 16 attendees had visited the emergency room by 7 p.m., Providence Health Care spokeswoman Laurie Dawkins said. “Nothing too serious,” she said. All patients would likely be discharged Wednesday night.
“They were stoned and eating lollipops,” she said.
Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Randy Fincham said that as of 8 p.m., first responders had dealt with approximately 25 medical incidents.
Police also dealt with two incidents on the water. A man who attempted to swim across the inlet needed rescue and an overloaded dinghy with no safety equipment caught the cops’ attention. Police also dealt with approximately 20 individuals with suspected gang affiliations.
While ingestion of edible cannabis products was behind the majority of last event’s ER visits, more issues this year came from smoking.
Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical officer, told Postmedia before this year’s event that health officials were concerned about adolescents and youth being sold marijuana.
“We are asking (vendors) to ID people who look like they are under (age) 25,” Daly said.
Health officials also warned of the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Before the event, B.C.’s medical health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, said marijuana presents the same health risks as tobacco with daily use over the long term.
He said those who happen to stroll through a haze of pot smoke could get something called a “contact high” if they inhale second-hand cannabis smoke. He said it’s not a significant health risk for adults, but very young children should be kept clear.
And VCH warned organizers in a letter to limit sales of cannabis products that can be eaten or inhaled to buyers aged 19 and older. Sellers were asked to clearly indicate the serving size of edibles, caution buyers not to combine marijuana with alcohol and inform them that effects can take several hours to kick in.
Postmedia observed several instances at this year’s event where cannabis vendors asked minors to provide identification and then turned them away when they couldn’t provide it.
Most vendors posted signs indicating they wouldn’t sell to minors, and many were observed warning people to wait an hour after consuming a small dose of edibles before they ate more.
Still, dozens of minors were seen smoking cannabis and ingesting edibles. When hundreds of joints were tossed into the crowd at 4:15 p.m., some teens scrambled for their share. However, it appeared fewer young people attended this year’s event. At its peak, the crowd was estimated to be close to 25,000 people.