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UK: Legal bid to stop cannabis festival

Nino Williams

Streatham Guardian

Thursday 22 Jan 2004

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The cannabis march and festival, staged annually in Lambeth, faces a legal
challenge which could prevent it going ahead this year.

Lambeth Council has summoned the organisers to court for an alleged breach
of last year's licensing conditions, which, if successful, would mean that
there would be no such event for the first time in six years.

Carnival licensee Shane Collins was due at Tower Bridge Magistrates Court
yesterday to answer charges concerning the festival held in Brockwell Park
last May.

The case has been adjourned since November, when five council employees and
four festival organisers gave evidence.

Lambeth Council alleges a sound system remained on for 10 minutes after it
was permitted to be by licence, but has dropped a charge of selling alcohol
after hours.

Shane Collins, who denies the charges, said: "This was a free event to
protest at the continued prohibition of one of nature's most useful plants
and a call for the huge trade in cannabis to be regulated and legalised.

"Scores of people worked, unpaid, for six months to bring this event together.

"In a sane society we might be applauded. Instead the council is spending
taxpayers' money to prosecute me for our efforts."

Last year the free event attracted up to 15,000 people and was one of 318
similar events around the globe. If Lambeth Council wins the action, it
could not only mean the end for this year's event, which is earmarked for
May 8, but also see Mr Collins facing up to six months in prison plus a
UKP20,000 fine.

A spokesman for Lambeth Council said: "We have done a lot to help make it
possible to stage this event, including reducing the licence fee
considerably last year.

"However, there were a number of breaches of licence conditions last year
and we had a lot of complaints from residents. We have to respect their views.

"Any application for a similar event will be looked at in the usual way
before a decision is made."

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