BUZZ KILL

Parks Department Shuts Down Pot Fest

Organizers for this year's installment of Hempstalk say they've got
Tommy Chong and marijuana activist John Trudell lined up, plus a slew
of musical acts to entertain the growing crowd. The one thing they
don't have: a permit from the city.

In mid-April, the city's Parks Department sent The Hemp and Cannabis
Foundation (THCF)-a medical marijuana provider and Hempstalk's main
organizer-a letter denying their request for a permit to hold the
event at Delta Park, September 8-9. The problem, according to Parks
Security Manager Mark Warrington, is that last year's event, which
brought an estimated 15,000 people to Waterfront Park, was the site of
"widespread smoking of marijuana" and "unlawful consumption of
alcohol" in violation of THCF's permit.

Police say they arrested three people outside the event allegedly
selling pot, and parks security issued 20 exclusions for possession of
marijuana and alcohol.

THCF Founder Paul Stanford denies the "widespread use" allegation.
"It's simply not true," he said. "In fact, our attorney calculated
that, based on other weekends, there were 40 percent fewer arrests at
the park during our event than usual."

Sgt. Chris Davis, who heads up the police bureau's downtown Street
Crimes Unit, didn't immediately know how many pot arrests normally
happen in the area, although he did say it's "not uncommon to find
weed dealers in Waterfront Park."

What isn't in dispute is that Hempstalk 2006 featured a private tent
for medical marijuana users to medicate. Warrington says that was in
direct violation of the permit agreement, and that even if state law
does allow for medical use in private-which it does-it isn't allowed
at Waterfront Park. Plus, the permit required THCF to follow all
"federal, state, and municipal laws and regulations," and federal law
doesn't make exceptions for medical users.

Warrington says they specifically denied THCF permission to set up a
medicinal tent.

"The first time [in 2005], they asked us if they could set up a
medical marijuana tent, and we had our attorneys research the issue
and they came back and said no, it wasn't okay," he says. "But last
year they went ahead and did the tent anyway.

"We come to an agreement with people when we issue permits, and they
did not live up to their part of the agreement last year," Warrington
added.

"That's true," Stanford says, "they told us we couldn't and we did it
anyway. We're a medical clinic, and all of our clients require medical
marijuana-how could we not provide a place for them to medicate? We
disagreed with [Warrington's] interpretation, knowing that if it
became a problem, we could challenge it based on state law."

Stanford also has a 2001 email that was sent by then-Mayor Vera Katz's
office to Oregon National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws (NORML), which he believes makes his case. At the time, NORML was
asking for permission to have a private area at the Rose Festival for
medical users. The response, sent by Katz staffer Elise Marshall, was
that "you do not need police endorsement, approval, or authorization
for what is currently allowed under [Oregon law] which deals with
medical marijuana."

As it currently stands, Hempstalk 2007 is permit-less, and no one from
the Portland Parks and Recreation Department, the police, or Parks
Commissioner Dan Saltzman appears ready to budge. But Stanford and his
fellow medical marijuana activists are taking their case to the rest
of city council, hoping for at least three friendly ears. "They can
either give us the permit," Stanford says, "or we're going to sue the
city."