Thousands of pot-smokers descended on Nimbin at the weekend despite police surrounding the village with drug-testing units.
And while the majority of people attending the annual cannabis law reform rally were well behaved, police confirmed there had been a number of drug detections throughout the weekend.
There were also reports of at least three instances of card skimming.
Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said people were less than impressed with the roadside drug testing, especially as it had been proved unreliable on a number of occasions.
‘There’s a lot of anger in the community about it and a lot of people have lost their licences,’ Mr Balderstone said.
‘A lot of people who only smoke pot, and have done so for 40 or 50 years, and have had no accidents, suddenly they’re off the road.
‘We’re particularly upset because we know it’s unfair, but police insist on using it.’
‘The police in the village were very reasonable in the main and good humoured about the weekend but their very presence stops everyone selling pot who usually does.
‘It’s the hardest weekend of the year to buy the bulky smelly herb in our village and as a consequence a lot of people took pills.
‘And this is exactly why cannabis needs to be separated from other illegal drugs.
‘The dried herb cannabis is so different to all the other chemical or processed illegal drugs and its ridiculous that the police have to treat pot the same as ice.
‘On the positive side we’ve worked out how to beat the police in the tug ‘o drug war. ‘Our Polite bare feet dig into the soft ground and grip while the Police boots slide!’
Meanwhile, Richmond Local Area Command was forced to issue a warning to festival goers that a card skimming device had been used at the festival.
Police said one person reported losing $500 from their account.
Richmond Local Area Command chief inspector Bill McKenna told Echonetdaily that local police were still waiting for results from the drug-testing unit.
More to come
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