SHERIFF OUTRAGED OVER WORLD HEMP FESTIVAL

HARRISBURG, Ore. The Linn County Sheriff blasted a hemp festival organized
last week by marijuana activist Bill Conde, calling it an open-air drug
bazaar that should be shut down.

"There was blatant, outrageous use and sales of drugs," Sheriff Dave
Burright said. "I don't believe this event should have happened and I don't
believe it should happen in the future."

Burright sent a five-page letter to the county commissioners Tuesday
outlining the illegal behavior that undercover and uniformed deputies said
they saw at the World Hemp Festival.

Officers made a total of 31 purchases of marijuana, hallucinogenic
mushrooms, LSD and unknown pills believed to be controlled substances, he
said, noting that one transaction occurred even though the deputy answered
"yes," when the seller asked, "Are you a cop?"

"That's how open it was," Burright said.

Conde doesn't deny that some of this guests lit up a joint or two, but he
and his lawyer, Brian Michaels, said Conde is being harassed for his
political views, which include advocating the legalization of marijuana.

"It's a personal vendetta," Conde said. "Someone there has really got a
problem with us because of who we are and what we represent."

The fourth annual Hemp Festival on Conde's property north of Eugene drew
12,000 people over three days, and more than 250 vendors specializing in
hemp-based products and food, Conde said.

He got the go-ahead to hold the festival after meeting with Linn County
commissioners to resolve issues stemming from the "Cannabis Carnival" on
his property last September.

Conde was served last fall with $60,000 in civil citations for allegedly
violating health, building and land use codes. The commissioners later
dropped all but two of the citations, but Conde still faces a criminal
charge for allegedly possessing more than an ounce of marijuana.

At this year's World Hemp Festival, Conde said his own security guards told
people to leave if they caught them selling drugs.

"One strike and they were out," he said. "We told them, 'You're endangering
your freedom and you're endangering this event.' We didn't tolerate it."

Still, Burright said he expects there to be arrests as a result of what
deputies noted in their reports.

Police didn't try to take anyone into custody at the site, he said, noting,
"We were in the middle of several thousand people and, for safety's sake,
it was impossible."

On roads near the site, uniformed patrol officers issued 55 traffic
citations, including four for driving under the influence of intoxicants,
the sheriff said.

In his letter to commissioners, Burright said Conde had violated his
contract with the county in numerous ways, from drug violations to failing
to employ one security guard for every 175 people in attendance.

"He did not comply," Burright wrote. "Law-abiding citizens of this county
should not have to tolerate this type of activity. It is wrong and a
tremendous drain on their tax dollar."