THE 4-1-1 ON 4/20 POT PROTEST
COSTS Why organizers of the event don’t have to pay for policing. CONSENT Other cities require permits for 4/20. Why not Vancouver? CHAOS streets This year’s rally clogged downtown and sent dozens to hospital.
Vancouver’s annual 4/20 rally has evolved into a giant farmers’ market for marijuana and attracts tens of thousands of people. So why don’t the organizers have to go through the city’s official permitting process?
A city spokesman says officials have repeatedly suggested organizers obtain a special event permit for the gathering at the Vancouver Art Gallery, but to no avail. Despite the increasingly commercial flavour of the day, the rally is still considered a protest.
The demonstration led to the closure of portions of Robson and Howe streets, causing traffic congestion throughout the downtown core, and was connected to dozens of emergency room visits. The VAG shut its doors for the day.
The lack of permits has been a “long-standing concern” for the Downtown Business Improvement Association, says the group’s president, Charles Gauthier.
“They in essence hide behind the concept that this is a protest and it’s not an event or festival. It’s a source of frustration for us,” Gauthier said.
“What we have is public space that’s being commercialized and there are companies that are making money from being on that site. It appears to be a double standard for an event like this versus other events that pay for all of or some of engineering and policing costs.”
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the city can’t force the 4/20 organizers to get permits because they’re hosting a demonstration and not an event or festival.
“It’s difficult given the scale of that protest and how organized it is,” Robertson said. “The city is dealing with it as a demonstration. This is the largest we have. I know it’s frustrating for people whose lives are disrupted by that.”
However, he added the city and police will seek ways to address the situation ahead of next year’s rally, saying this was “well beyond what was expected” and highly disruptive. An estimated 20,000 people attended the protest, he said, which has “outgrown its footprint” at the art gallery. The city closed Robson Street Monday morning over fears attendees would stumble into traffic and get hit.
Some other cities with large 4/20 events do require organizers to obtain permits.
In Denver, where recreational marijuana use is legal, a state park permit was needed to hold 4/20 festivities that attracted thousands, and a special events permit was needed for an annual two-day pot festival held over the weekend. Police also ticketed pot smokers because toking up in public remains illegal.
In Winnipeg, organizers obtained a parade permit to march through city streets, as well as a “use of street” permit to sell raffle tickets.
Vancouver’s rally is organized by a team from the Cannabis Culture organization that includes activist Jodie Emery.
When asked why the organizers don’t obtain a permit for 4/20, she had a succinct answer: “The reason 4/20 can’t get permits is because it is an illegal event with hundreds of people selling marijuana.”
She went on to explain that a special event permit would simply be too expensive. “I do have an email outlining what you would need to meet it — milliondollar insurance and all of that. We can’t afford it,” she said.
Other big events are able to cover the cost because they have corporate sponsors. Last year, for example, TD Bank sponsored Pride and Honda backed the Celebration of Lights fireworks festival. Unless marijuana is legalized, Emery has strong doubts that any large business would be interested in funding 4/20.
The organizers allowed about 100 vendors to book space ahead of time in exchange for a $250 donation, while the rest of the space was provided for free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Proceeds from those donations go to covering the cost of holding the rally, which includes hiring security personnel, renting fencing and 25 porta potties, paying for radios to communicate with police and paramedics, and erecting two stages for entertainment. In all, 4/20 cost more than $20,000 for the nonprofit group, Emery says.
Organizers don’t pay the city’s policing or cleanup costs, although they did help city workers clear away the trash. A city spokesman said it was too early to estimate the full cost, which would include policing, traffic enforcement and sanitation.
Emery said the city has asked her group to look into helping pay for policing costs, but she argued the rally is relatively problem-free compared to the annual fireworks in English Bay.
Vancouver police spokesman Sgt. Randy Fincham confirmed there were no significant police incidents of note this year.
Emery also acknowledged that the size of 4/20 has become a bit out of control in recent years, saying that it’s causing “massive” traffic problems.
She said organizers wanted to move this year’s rally to the grounds of the Vancouver Convention Centre, which has a much bigger capacity and is situated away from major traffic arterials, but city officials turned down that request.
Some concerns have also been raised about the health impacts of unregulated marijuana sales.
A total of 64 people who attended 4/20 — or about 0.3 per cent of all participants — were treated at St. Paul’s Hospital on Monday. All but two of those were for marijuana-related complaints, including nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations and partial loss of consciousness.
“It does appear that a lot of them had eaten the marijuana in the form of either cakes or smoothies or cookies,” Providence Health spokesman Dave Lefebvre said.