Last
weekend's 420 Music Fest was supposed to be about more than just pot.
It was supposed to be a festival based around education and celebration
of one of the nation's most widely used illegal substances.
But
when City of Las Vegas officials quashed the two-day festival early
Friday afternoon, a local marijuana activist group promised to sue the
city for what they say were civil-rights violations.
According to Billy Soloe, local head of the Nevada chapter of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), who
sponsored the 420 Music Fest, the closure of the festival hinged on
city officials targeting the festival for its pro-drug leanings.
"They
were definitely targeting us," Soloe said. "We went through every
little thing and tried to make sure everything was done right."
The
event, which was supposed to feature performances by over 50 bands,
separated by two stages, behind the Ice House Lounge for two days,
ended up being collapsed into the lounge early Friday morning after a
permit for the fest was denied April 18 by city officials.
This
left only a common area in the Downtown bar's parking lot for the
festival's 20-plus vendors, some of whom had come from as far as Oregon
to sell stuff.
Moreover, when city inspectors came to check on the event at around 11
a.m. Friday, Soloe was forced to shut down the vendors—or be fined
thousands of dollars in non-compliance fees.
Inspectors threatened to pull the liquor license of the Ice House if Soloe did not stop the event completely.
"They
showed up and said that if the owner didn't stop the show, they'd close
the place down for 30 days. I didn't want to put the owner out of
business, so we stopped the show," Soloe said. "They didn't really give
me any options."
For the vendors and the bands, who had spent thousands to come to the fest, the losses were painful.
"It's
horrible; I've spent at least $1,000 to come here," said Obie, a
California clothing vendor. "Normally during a two-day festival we'd
break $5,000. Now we'll probably go [back] home."
But
with the abrupt cancellation of the event, Soloe, who had spent
approximately $50,000 in personal expenses, promised that he would take
the city government to court and sue for the expenses.
Jace
Radke, city spokesperson, said the issue was NORML's failure to obtain
a special events license, which can only be obtained through a hearing
with the City Council.
Radke
said the event was shut down because of NORML's failure to apply for
the license by the April 5 deadline to get it onto the Council's April
18 agenda.
In the
end, with thousands of dollars lost, Soloe's potential upcoming legal
battle may not just define the status of NORML's local chapter. It may
also define what is, and is not, allowed as a Downtown festival.
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