DETECTIVES: EVEN THE SECURITY GUARDS SOLD DRUGS AT THREE-DAY FESTIVAL

HARRISBURG, Ore. (AP) -- A man who threw a three-day marijuana
festival earlier this month encouraged attendants to "light it up" and
showed a joint to his 4-year-old daughter and asked if she knew what
it was, according to an affidavit.

Even the security guards at Bill Conde's annual "Cannabis Carnival"
were using and peddling drugs, undercover Linn County sheriff's
deputies said.

"People were walking around calling out `shrooms, nuggets,' like
peanut vendors at a ball game," a detective wrote, referring to street
terms for hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana bud.

Conde, an outspoken marijuana activist who has hosted numerous
marijuana-themed events, said he didn't see the alleged drug sales and
tried to prevail on fairgoers not to buy or sell drugs. The outdoor
music festival drew hundreds of people to his property Sept. 4-6.

But detectives say they bought drugs 26 times during the event and
were approached by sellers numerous other times peddling marijuana,
mushrooms and blotter acid.

According to the affidavit, filed last week, Conde told undercover
detectives who approached him before the event that they could smoke
marijuana there "as long as you don't try to peddle it or are blatant
about using it."

On stage at the event, he allegedly asked the crowd to avoid "blatant
transactions."

While on stage, detectives said, Conde took a rolled joint from his
pocket and showed it to his 4-year-old daughter, asking her if she
knew what it was. She didn't answer, but Conde allegedly said she once
picked up a bud and told him, "Daddy, this smells good."

Detectives said he then urged everyone to "light it
up."

"Conde lit his joint and the majority of spectators did the same,"
according to the affidavit.

Conde hasn't denied smoking pot or allowing others to smoke it on his
property, saying using or possessing less than an ounce isn't a crime.
Under Oregon law, it is considered a violation and can result in a
citation similar to a traffic ticket.

And he says detectives are making too much of his daughter's exposure
to marijuana.

"I could compare it to maybe a guy drinking a beer and his daughter
knowing what a beer looks like," he said. "My children have never
smoked any pot."

Conde said detectives effectively shut down his redwood lumber
business when they searched his property last week, taking computers
and business records, among other items.

He was charged with a felony count of possessing marijuana after
detectives allegedly found just more than an ounce of the drug during
the search. He also is facing about $45,000 in fines for alleged
violations of county building, sanitation and mass gathering codes.

Conde continued to call the search politically motivated, saying the
affidavit didn't justify why detectives had the right to search his
house and business. The carnival site, just north of Conde's
lumberyard and home, wasn't searched, he said.

"There's nothing in that affidavit that determines that they could go
into my house or Conde's Redwood Lumber," he said. "Yet that's where
they struck. Their investigation was trying to do something to me,
rather than trying to find out what's going on."

He also denies that his security force was involved in any of the drug
transactions. But he said if he finds that any guard was selling
drugs, he'll never hire him again.

"If I find any security guards doing that, shame on them," he said.
"They were specifically instructed not to tolerate that."

Checked-by: Patrick Henry