Cannabis enthusiasts and would-be protesters who went to Vancouver’s Sunset Beach expecting a 4-20 festival this year were met instead with fences and police officers.
The Vancouver Police Department shared a photo on social media of a one-page handout it said officers were distributing to 4-20 protesters “throughout the city.”
“The Vancouver Police Department has clearly communicated to event organizers that the right to assemble and protest will be supported, while there will also be consideration of the need to enforce applicable laws, including laws governing the sale and possession of cannabis,” the document reads, in part.
“If you are considering selling cannabis at this event, we encourage you to communicate with police officers present to ensure that you are in compliance with the law, including the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act that requires an individual to hold a valid licence and demonstrate that any cannabis is legally sourced.”
Online event listings advertised an event at Sunset Beach with vendors and a stage, but none of that could be seen Saturday.
Instead, blue metal fencing had been set up around the area where the gathering was planned.
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation issued a statement Friday calling the 4-20 gathering “unpermitted” and “non-sanctioned,” and promising to fence off certain areas of the park “to prevent ground and turf damage.”
The park board said it also planned to close the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, the Sunset Beach washrooms and the parking lots for Sunset Beach, English Bay and the aquatic centre.
“Park rangers, the Vancouver Police Department and City Protective Services will be present throughout the day to support public safety,” the statement reads.
Fences were also set up at Thornton Park, according to longtime Vancouver 4-20 organizer Dana Larsen, who was not involved in planning events held this year or last year, but did endorse a gathering that took place in Thornton Park last year.
Larsen wrote on social media that the park board and the VPD had “aggressively worked to shut down any 4-20 events this year,” calling the move “pathetic.”
In years past, especially before the COVID-19 pandemic, annual 4-20 protests at the Vancouver Art Gallery and later at Sunset Beach drew tens of thousands of participants, including numerous vendors selling cannabis and cannabis-related products.
