This Saturday, the 4/20 Vancouver celebration is scheduled to take place at Sunset Beach. Ahead of the controversial event, Vancouver Police are asking parents to have a conversation with their children about the risks of attending a large, unsanctioned cannabis event.
โWith the warm weather, the long weekend, and the free concert, we recognize that this yearโs 4/20 event may be a big draw for teens,โ says Sergeant Jason Robillard, VPD.
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โLike other large public events, our focus will be on the safety of attendees, the general public, and first responders, but we will be paying special attention to vendors to ensure they are not selling to minorsโ.
Booth operators are encouraged to identify minors and make it clear that they will not sell any products to anyone underage.
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4/20 Vancouver 2019
At a meeting on Monday night, Vancouver Park Board Commissioner John Coupar raised a motion to ask event organizers to cancel Cypress Hillโs free 4/20 concert. The motion passed and Park Board staff will now contact 4/20 festival organizers to cancel the concert.
The Park Board argues that allowing Cypress Hill to perform will only make the event get even more out of hand, attracting bigger crowds to Sunset Beach.
With this in mind, the VPDโs Public Safety Unit and Gang Crime Unit will be onsite to deal with the large crowds. Police will focus on:
- monitoring sales to those who appear to be minors and taking action if sales are observed,
- looking for drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol โ drivers can expect to see police drug recognition experts and officers equipped with alcohol screening devices on the roads throughout the day, and
- monitoring for gang members or associates in the crowd.
Future of the Event
Back in February, the Vancouver Park Board has passed a motion to keep the annual 4/20 festival away from Sunset Beach by 2020.
While no doubt popular, the event creates a great deal of damage. In fact, the area sustained so much damage during last yearโs protest that the Sunset Beach Park was closed for weeks. Further, the City of Vancouver spent roughly $245,000 on extensive repairs and costs after the 2017 event.
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