OPP SAYS RIDE CHECK AT HEMPFEST WAS LEGITIMATE POLICEWORK

Court Will Decide If Drug Charges Improperly Laid

Ontario Provincial Police say an impaired driving checkpoint outside
Hempfest wasn't a ploy to search festival-goers for pot, and deny
charges by organizers of the annual cannabis festival that police
attempted to drive off attendees.

"We had substantial reason to believe that there may be drivers in
that area who had been partaking in drugs and could possibly be
impaired," said Sgt. Brian Knowles, of the East Algoma detachment,
based in Thessalon.

The extent of the police presence at the festival, north of Bruce
Mines, was in response to the potential number of people attending
the event, he said.

The legality of drug charges that resulted from the check will be
decided in court, Knowler said.

Ontario Provincial Police laid 32 drug charges and four weapons
charges, along with a string of Highway Traffic Act charges, during
what was described in a press release as an "extremely successful
three-day RIDE initiative."

Police set up in Havilah, a small hamlet close to the Hempfest site
in Ophir during the annual Hempfest.

Rob Waddell, organizer of Hempfest, pointed out this week that no
impaired driving charges were laid, for drugs or alcohol.

He also charged OPP went above and beyond their normal practice at
RIDE checks by questioning passengers, checking for documentation and
doing vehicle safety checks.

Some who attended Hempfest described a military-style roadblock a
short distance from the event, manned by as many as 20 police officers.

Waddell, who owns Planetary Pride, a Queen Street store that sells
seeds and other cannabis-related products, pointed to previous
Hempfest events, during which OPP provided little to no presence. He
said police used safety or documentation violations to search for drugs.

Acting Staff Sgt. Stacey Whaley, who is in charge of the East Algoma
detachment, said the scrutiny exercised by police at Hempfest 2007
was "certainly within our authority," and he insisted it was not
beyond the bounds of a normal RIDE check.

Whaley said the level of police presence was spurred by "a
combination of complaints from people in the area, of the amount of
traffic on that road, and the volume of the event."

It is not unusual for OPP to be present at large events, regardless
of their nature, he said and denied police attempted to dissuade
people from attending.

Knowler said OPP could not comment directly on the legality of the
searches that resulted in the drug charges.

"The drug charges will obviously be tried in court and any issues of
legality will lay before the courts, but we're very confident, we're
satisfied that the charges we laid were appropriate and were proper
given the circumstances."