POT ACTIVIST WILL SUE OVER LAW ENFORCEMENT TACTICS

HARRISBURG, Ore. Marijuana activist Bill Conde says he will sue Linn County
and its sheriff over what he calls their strong-arm tactics during a recent
drug-filled jamboree.

The ongoing battle between Conde and Sheriff Dave Burright escalated during
the weekend bash on Conde's property, on which the sheriff said marijuana,
hallucinogenic mushrooms and LSD were being used, bought and sold. "You'd
have to be blind not to know the things that were going on inside that
venue," Burright said.

Burright made similar charges after Conde sponsored his "World Hemp
Festival" in July. Conde has been hosting concerts and fairs on his land
north of Coburg, along Interstate 5, for more than a decade. On Tuesday, a
large reader board on his property facing the highway read, "Recall Burright."

Conde and his lawyer, Brian Michaels, did not deny there were drugs present
during the events. But they say the level of activity was no different than
police would find at other large gatherings like a football game or county
fair.

Michaels said Burright is taking a get-tough stance because the sheriff
doesn't like Conde's political efforts to legalize marijuana.

"He's the sheriff of the county where the loudest and most vocal marijuana
activist in Oregon resides, and he's getting pressure from other sheriffs
to shut Mr. Conde down," Michaels said.

He and Conde alleged that Burright brought in large numbers of deputies to
intimidate people, saying there were so many patrol cars making traffic
stops on the roads to Conde's property that some would-be concertgoers
turned around and went home.

"It killed us," Conde said. "I wonder what the hell the rest of Linn County
did for law enforcement over the weekend."

Michaels said Conde drew only about a third of the 10,000 people he expected.

Conde said he would sue Linn County and Burright, alleging violations of
his First Amendment right to free speech and assembly. Michaels said papers
could be filed within several months, probably in U.S. District Court.

"He's using his office to violate my client's rights, and in doing so he's
made it uncomfortable and unpleasant for people to come to these events,"
Michaels said.

Burright said he had not sorted out how many officers were dispatched to
the weekend event, and had not tabulated how much overtime it cost the county.

Burright said deputies made three arrests and could have made many more,
but it wasn't safe. At one point Sunday, he said, deputies were walking out
with a man they arrested inside for selling illegal mushrooms, when they
were met at the gate by Conde, Michaels and several other people.

"It was a very, very tense situation," Burright said. "The officers were
hindered from leaving."