OH, HOW THEY DANCED-A HIGH OLD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL AT THE DOPE PICKERS' BALL

Mardi Grass 2001, Nimbin's famous cannabis festival, began, as they
say, in high spirits in perfect autumn weather on Saturday. The
Lismore papers had been full of rumours of impending police sniffer
dog raids, which, fortunately, didn't occur. If any of those poor
animals had walked down the main street of Nimbin during the past two
days they would have gone crazy.

Having grown out of a protest in 1993, when Nimbin's pot smokers
organised a rally against heavy-handed police raids, the festival has
mushroomed into a major celebration of Nimbin's resistance to the
cannabis laws. In 1994 we saw the advent of the Cannabis Cup, awarded
to the grower of the best buds of the season; in 1996 came the Hemp
Olympix. Along with the Dope Pickers' Ball and the Hemp Harvest ball,
these events form the core of the two-day festival.

During the Mardi Grass, laws relating to cannabis possession and
supply are so relaxed as to be virtually non-existent. The police
tactfully retreat and security duties are taken on by the locals in
an operation called the Jungle Patrol.

For this festival, the main street was closed and given over to
pedestrians, stalls, drummers and fire-twirlers.

On the first night, Nimbin's famous street murals were floodlit for
the first time. Thousands had arrived for the festival. As far away
as Byron Bay, all the backpacker hostels were full.

A notable addition this year were Cannabis Cafes, the result of a
call by the Nimbin Hemp Embassy for a Cannabis Cafe trial. They were
well organised and well patronised - one cafe reported sales of 700
joints on Saturday. The effect on the street dealing scene was
apparent - much of the buying and selling took place off the street,
creating a friendlier, more family atmosphere. "The large trade
across the cafe counters makes a lot of sense. A lot of people just
want to buy a joint for $5 and you can't buy a $5 deal on the
street," said organiser Michael Balderstone.

As well as the sporting events, there were forums on industrial hemp,
medical cannabis, seed swaps - and a lecture called "Cloning the
Clone". A panel on pot politics discussed the formation of a NSW Hemp
Party. Independent MLC Richard Jones, a long-time critic of the drug
laws, urged a campaign which would put both major parties last
because of their abysmal record on drug law reform.

As usual, the Hemp Olympix proved extremely popular. The events
included speed and artistic joint rolling, the bong throw and the
growers' ironperson.

The ironperson is an endurance event based on the conditions facing
guerilla marijuana growers in the Nimbin hills. According to Chibo,
the man who designed the event, the idea was to highlight just how
much hard work guerilla farming can be.

Because of regular police raids, Nimbin farmers grow their crops a
long way from home, which means carrying large bags of fertiliser and
buckets of water. To hide their tracks from the air, many guerilla
farmers crawl under lantana for the last part of their journey.

All this is simulated in the growers' ironperson. On the first leg,
contestants lug a 42-kilo sack of fertiliser round a 100-metre
course. On return they pick up a large pail of water and run the
second leg carrying that. On the third leg they run unencumbered, but
have to crawl through a lantana tunnel.

On Sunday, a large group of Ganja Faeries led the protest parade down
Nimbin's main street. Dressed in faery green costumes adorned with
marijuana leaves, they held up large pot leaf-shaped placards and
danced the samba. It took 45 minutes to pass, prompting estimates of
a 10,000-plus crowd. At the rally, Green MLC Lee Rhiannon announced
she would introduce a bill for Cannabis Cafes in NSW. "The day will
come when they no longer have these rot ten laws and we will all
celebrate the way we are today."