cannabisnews.com: Pot Smokers at Stones Show Not High Priority!





Pot Smokers at Stones Show Not High Priority!
Posted by FoM on February 12, 1999 at 12:23:00 PT

Hockey fans know the rules at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim: Absolutely no smoking, only two drinks at a time from the concession stand, and no entering or exiting the arena while the puck is in play.   But it seems the rules didn't apply to marijuana smoking at the two Rolling Stones concerts at the Pond this week. 
   "You'd have to have no sense of smell not to notice it," said Gwen Forsythe, 44, a former Seal Beach mayor who was among the 30,000 fans who turned out to hear the Stones at the Pond Tuesday and Thursday nights. "It was a gray, balding, beer-bellied crowd, but they were having a great time recapturing a little part of their youth."   Though a marijuana haze hung over the crowd, Anaheim police said enforcing pot laws is not a high priority at rock concerts.   "We are more concerned with general security," said Sgt. Joe Vargas, a spokesman for the department. "If we were to become preoccupied with addressing every marijuana smoker at the location, we would immediately find ourselves overwhelmed by the task."   Said Cory Meredith of Staff Pro Security, which patrols the Pond and other venues: "There are lots of problems at a concert. . . . If you're trying to keep the aisles clear, check tickets and keep people from jumping over [the railings], stopping smoking is low on the list."   Meredith said his company prefers that police not get involved with the crowd at events like this week's Stones gig. "You don't see police officers inside venues very often," he said.   That was not always the case.   Music editor Steve Bloom of High Times, a magazine that reports on the drug culture and has lobbied for the decriminalization of marijuana, recalls the early 1970s, when concertgoers who wanted to light up had to do so with stealth.   "You had to go to the bathroom to smoke," he said. "Through the '70s it became more of a given; it was accepted that people would light up at a show."   With the 1980s came "Just Say No" campaigns, and undercover police officers began working the crowds and cracking down. Today, the pendulum seems to be swinging back, at least in California, where possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a citation and fine of about $100. Jeff Travis, 35, an off-duty Los Alamitos police officer attending Tuesday night's Stones concert, noted that "as soon as the lights went down," the joints lit up. 
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