Festival host charged with allowing the smoking of cannabis on his land.

Ian Palmer | 16.12.2009 14:40

Organiser of music festival charged with allowing the smoking of cannabis on his land.

On Friday 11th December 2009. Andy Norman, Host and organiser of Thimbleberry Music Festival in County Durham, Uk was in court facing the charge of "did permit the use of cannabis on his premises" relating to alleged use by the festival-goers of cannabis at the last September festival. He has not entered a plea and is due back in court on the 5th February 2010 to face committal to Crown Court. No one was, I believe, arrested at the festival. In effect he is to be prosecuted for the alleged offences of other people. If he is prosecuted this would set a precedent that could have serious repercussions for all festivals. Would any land-owner (including the councils) want to risk holding a festival on their land knowing that they could be prosecuted for the alleged offences of the festival-goers upon which they can have little control. It is also a gross injustice that an individual should be charged for the alleged offences of others.

This a serious charge. He could face jail. A Facebook group was created on 5th December 2009 which has attracted nearly 11,000 supporters. This was necessary as the media have failed to report on this injustice.at all.

Ian Palmer
e-mail: imp.palmer@btinternet.com
Homepage: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=196155751860&ref=mf

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

Repression of the festival scene

16.12.2009 15:11

The Big Green Gathering was the first 'hippy' festival to be attacked by the authorities, it seems that Thimbleberry Music Festival is now the second. The Big Green Gathering had difficulties obtaining a license from the council, but they succeeded nonetheless, then after making over £100K of non-refundable down payments on facilities for the festival the police obtained a last minute injunction effectively bankrupting the festival permanently.

Some say the Metropolitan police were shown up at the G20 and at the Kingsnorth power station protest it seems that any potential recruiting grounds for climate activists were being targeted.

http://www.schnews.org.uk/archive/news685.php

http://www.bristol.indymedia.org.uk/article/690757

Anonymous

why stop there?

16.12.2009 16:44

its not enough to just prosecute the landowner. a more radical approach is needed. for starters, every policeman who attended the festival and failed to stop this heinous activity should be prosecuted for causing or permitting the offence to take place. without doubt the criminals got there by road, so lets not leave out the highways agency; prosecute them as well. the government has stood by and let this happen; they should be arrested and their houses searched as well. lets face it the government is in the frame as half the cabinet admit to being 'users' at some point in their career. in fact the entire population must 'fess up to some responsibility as we elected these idiots.
the only solution is for the entire population to hand itself in.

im watching you

or....

16.12.2009 16:48

the landowner could erect a sign:

VISITORS ARE REMINDED THAT CRIMES ARE ILLEGAL. DO NOT BREAK THE LAW WHILST ON THIS (OR ANY OTHER) LAND.

sorted!

im watching you

misuse of drugs act section 8

16.12.2009 22:00

is possibly what is being used here

this act is used selectively for example in the Cambridge Wintercomfort case

Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act
The current law makes it a criminal offence for people to knowingly allow premises they own, manage,
or have responsibility for, to be used by any other person for:
• production or attempted production of any controlled drug
• supply or attempted supply of any controlled drug
• preparation of opium for smoking
• smoking of cannabis, cannabis resin or prepared opium
Professionals can be prosecuted if they knowingly allow any of these things to occur on work premises,
which they ‘occupy’. The same legal obligations could apply to people with regard to their own homes.
The law requires that if staff become aware of the use or supply of illicit drugs on their premises, they
must take reasonable action to prevent this continuing.

simon

nonsense

16.12.2009 23:37

If people insist of shoving that crap into their bodies then it really isnt the land owners responsibility.
He can be expected to go around checking everyone and policing it himself.

Sounds like a nonsense case to me

Max

Make note

17.12.2009 08:51

Make note of the names and positions of everybody to do with this political witch hunt.

This is a deliberate attack on [our] culture and a means whereby repression of any and every social & political movement has found another bow string.

Rainbow Pete

hmmm

17.12.2009 19:14

the police know that "stuff" is planned and talked about at the big "left wingers" gatherings..."stuff" that will ultimately lead to the downfall for their global order, say, in a hundred years or maybe less.maybe more.

so hitting the green festie with this type of shit, and the smoking pot thing, is just one more attack on us, as rainbow pete so rightly pointed out.

this is getting urgent.

lynn sawyer

the loons are in charge

18.12.2009 18:26

Here is another injustice. Goes like this. You find a gun in your garden. Yov'e had problems with the police before. So you phone a policeman and arrange an appointment. At the appointment you hand over the gun. what happens next......?

http://constantlyfurious.blogspot.com/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1236976/Soldier-given-suspended-sentence-handing-shotgun-police-given-award-instead.html

im watching you