Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jul 1999
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Register-Guard
Contact:  http://www.registerguard.com/
Author: PAUL NEVILLE

SHERIFF'S PATROL CAUSES FRICTION AT HEMP FEST

HARRISBURG - Linn County officials got the go-ahead Friday to have
uniformed sheriff's deputies patrol the fourth annual World Hemp Festival,
and organizer Bill Conde accused county officials of sabotaging the event.

"They've done it to me time and again. ... It's just one sucker punch after
another," said Conde, standing at the entrance to the festival at the west
end of his rural property, where more than 2,000 people had arrived by
evening.

The dispute over patrols arose after Conde refused to allow Linn County
Sheriff Dave Burright have his uniformed officers conduct periodic "spot
checks" of the three-day festival.

Burright maintained that deputies had the legal right to patrol based on an
agreement between Conde and Linn County commissioners.

The agreement was reached after Linn County officials served Conde with
$60,000 in citations, charging 68 violations of county land use, building
and health codes after a similar event last fall.

Conde protested that county officials were persecuting him because of his
pro-marijuana stance and events such as the hemp festival.

Earlier this summer, Conde reached an agreement with Linn County
commissioners who dropped all but two of the citations in exchange for
Conde's pledge to make electrical and plumbing improvements and to allow
inspections by county officials at future events.

When Burright said he planned to have deputies patrol the festival, Conde
protested that the agreement on inspections didn't extend to law
enforcement officials.

But a Linn County judge ruled Friday afternoon that the agreement allowed
the patrols.

Burright said uniformed deputies would begin regular patrols Friday night
to make sure the festival complies with Conde's agreement with the county.

Among other things, the deal stipulates that there can be no use of illegal
drugs, including marijuana, or any violations of liquor laws.

Conde said his security force, which he boosted for this year's festival,
was already geared up to guard against illicit drug use and other violations.

At the festival entrance, squads of security workers searched people's
backpacks and baggage for drugs and alcohol.

Festival-goers were also checked with hand-held metal detectors - a move
Conde conceded was aimed in part in detecting undercover officers.

"They can tell if people are carrying guns - or badges," he said.

The mood was decidedly upbeat inside the festival, with most people seeming
far more concerned about the cloudy weather than the potential presence of
deputies.

"This hasn't put much of a damper on the festivities - a lot of people
aren't taking it all that seriously," said Dan Cort, a security worker.

"But that could change when police start walking through," he said.

The festival officially opened at noon Friday, but organizational hitches
resulted in long lines and some frustrations for late-arriving vendors who
had to stand in line for nearly an hour with everyone else.

But admissions were running smoothly by midafternoon, and more than 200
vendors had finished setting up booths, which featured hemp products
ranging from soap, candy, bug spray, beer and baseball caps to dog collars,
garden gloves and hemp boxer shorts.

One booth even offered hemp polo shirts and cargo pants, which vendor Jeff
Joseph of Portland, conceded was an obvious cultural clash.

"It definitely looks like a trendy Gap thing, doesn't it," he mused.

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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart