Cannabis festival plans anger council, neighbours
A CANNABIS festival planned for a public reserve is ploughing ahead despite strong opposition from neighbours and the Dunedin City Council.
A letter from council chief executive Sue Bidrose to the organiser asked him not to proceed with the event and said the council had given police authority to ask people to leave and issue trespass notices.
Meanwhile, police said they respected the right to peaceful protest and would focus on public safety and preventing disorder, as opposition gathers steam ahead of the festival this weekend.
The Harvest Festival is set to start on Saturday at councilcontrolled Woodside Glen, near Outram, to coincide with 4/20 (April 20), a worldwide day of cannabis celebration.
Organiser Joe Nicolson said the cannabis and hemp festival was a more ‘‘professional’’ alternative to the J Day cannabis smoking protest in the Octagon in previous years.
It is billed online as a celebration of all things cannabis, headlined by Tiki Taane, and featuring hemp and cannabis businesses, music, food, workshops and panel discussions.
Tickets start at $100, and an extra $50 allows access to a ‘‘mindblowing R18 ‘Peaceful Protest Zone’,’’ according to the website.
Hundreds, possibly thousands of people were set to descend on the woodland glen, Mr Nicolson said.
The twoday ‘‘Golden Bud’’ pass includes onsite camping at the public reserve.
‘‘This is just our attempt at taking it away from the Octagon, which is embarrassing for the whole industry, and putting on a professional display, where it should be.’’
However, Dr Bidrose’s letter to Mr Nicholson showed the council strongly disagreed with the location of the event.
‘‘As you have been told verbally by myself, Joy Gunn and Robert West, [the council] is not prepared to have you use councilowned land for the purposes of hosting an event that has the intent of enabling illegal activity, in this case cannabis consumption,’’ she said.
The grassy picnic area is at the northern foot of Maungatua in the small rural suburb of Woodside, about 2km west of Outram.
Without a permit, neither an event nor camping could take place there, under the reserves and beaches bylaw, Dr Bidrose said.
‘‘You cannot charge members of the public to access the reserve and you cannot prevent anyone from accessing any part of the reserve at any time.’’
Breaching the bylaw risked a fine of up to $20,000.
Dr Bidrose said the council had given police the authority to require people to leave and issue trespass notices, and the letter asked Mr Nicolson to not proceed with the event.
‘‘We [earlier] got in touch with him and told him clearly and unequivocally he could not use DCC land,’’ she said yesterday.
In response, Mr Nicolson wrote to numerous politicians, including the Prime Minister, to complain the council was inhibiting his freedom of speech, she said.
‘‘Even if he wasn’t breaking the law, I’m not sure we would have given permission for an event of the size he claims it’s going to be, in that spot,’’ Dr Bidrose said.
‘‘When it’s public land you can’t block anybody off from being able to use it so you can make a profit off our land.’’
Mr Nicolson yesterday accused the council of bullying and claimed Woodside was where police had asked him to hold the event.
Inspector Wil Black, of Dunedin, confirmed police had met Mr Nicolson.
But at no time did staff suggest or agree on a venue for the event, he said.
‘‘This is not something police has any jurisdiction over.
‘‘Should this event go ahead, our focus will be around peaceful protest and responding appropriately to any potential issues regarding disorder, criminal activity, or public safety.’’
Longtime Woodside resident Ray Beardsmore and his wife were dismayed the event was going ahead and say they have taken many phone calls from neighbours who were ‘‘absolutely petrified’’ of what might happen.
They had contacted police asking for 24hour protection during the festival and were worried about noise, damage to the reserve and the possible antics of drug and alcoholaffected revellers.
‘‘They’ve been told no, but they’re going ahead anyway,’’ Mr Beardsmore said.
Another Woodside man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he supported reform of drug laws but opposed the festival at the relatively small glen, which had been the site of disorder previously and ‘‘boy racers ripping up the grass’’.
‘‘We can’t go away on holiday now because we’re going to have to stay and look after the farm and the house.
‘‘The whole neighbourhood’s spewing.’’