Top cop opposes cannabis as dad | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers

Saffron Howden | 24th March 2009

Police Superintendent Bruce Lyons says, as a father, he opposes the decriminalisation of cannabis.

Northern Star

JUST weeks out from the annual Nimbin MardiGrass festival, the local police commander has come out publicly against the legalisation of cannabis.

Superintendent Bruce Lyons said he was speaking as a father, and that most parents would not want to see the drug decriminalised.

“I think as a dad I can talk on behalf of many families and they don't want cannabis legalised,” he told reporters outside Lismore Police Station yesterday.

He also said he supported people's right to make political comments.

MardiGrass, which began in 1993, is designed to be a peaceful weekend of protest lobbying for drug reform, including the legalisation of cannabis.

Scheduled to be held this year on May 2 and 3 at Nimbin, it will attract a strong police response.

“Each year we provide extra resources for the festival,” Supt Lyons said.

This year police are hoping that will include mounted police officers.

“I'm hoping to get the police horses. I know that the public likes that,” he said.

Police would ensure the safety of town residents and tourists, as well as target people involved in drugs and anti-social behaviour, he said.

Last year, the festival attracted a crowd of around 15,000 people.

Police apprehended 80 of them, most for drug-related offences. But many received just a caution.

The operation involved random breath-tests, sniffer dogs, roadside drug-testing, as well as street patrols on foot.

Nimbin Museum spokesman Michael Balderstone said he believed police would try to shut down the museum again this year for the festival.

The museum was closed last year just before MardiGrass under the 1943 Restricted Premises Act.

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