US - Pot Fundraiser - Music That Matters Concert June 2005

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Pot Fund-raiser Show Aims for Marysville June 3-5 @ Beckworth River Park, Marysville.. put it on your calendar.

Marysville, CA - Marysville may play host to a June concert that will raise money for a medical marijuana advocate's legal defense fund, officials said Tuesday.

The event, billed as the Music That Matters Festival 2005, could run June 3-5 at Beckwourth Riverfront Park. The event must still be approved by the Marysville City Council's Parks and Recreation Committee, which will discuss the issue tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Recipients of ticket sales revenues would include Stephen Banister, a Nevada County doctor who was cited by the state medical board about four years ago for recommending cannabis to patients, and the state branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, according to a concert Web site.

Marysville officials said Tuesday they did not know how proceeds from the concert would be used. After learning of the event's purpose in an interview with the Appeal-Democrat, City Administrator Steve Casey said there would be no attempts to block it if no laws are broken.

"As long as they follow the rules they're entitled to do what they want to do," Casey said.

Promoters of the event, contacted at a Colfax medical marijuana dispensary called the Golden State Patient Care Collective, said they are expecting an eclectic festival that will feature acts including the Marshall Tucker Band.

"We're just trying to make it a real family event," said organizer Rick Combs.

Previous Music That Matters events have been held in Penn Valley and Rollins Lake. The shows have typically attracted about 600 people, Combs said.

Marysville Police Chief Bret Smith said he has spoken with concert promoters to discuss security measures. Among the issues that need to be discussed, Smith said, are the hours when the concert will run.

"There's still some unresolved issues," Smith said. "I don't see anything insurmountable."

The use of medical marijuana remains a contentious issue in the Mid-Valley. Some local governments have banned or considered barring the dispensaries that are allowed under Proposition 215, a state ballot initiative that makes it legal to possess marijuana for certain medical uses.

Sutter County and Yuba City have zoning ordinances against dispensaries, and Live Oak is expected to vote on one Wednesday night. Marysville does not currently have a zoning code outlawing medical marijuana, Casey said.

Contacted at his Nevada City practice on Monday, Banister said he hopes Music That Matters will help combat what he sees as negative attitudes surrounding the use of marijuana in medicine. Banister, a 1971 graduate of the University of Miami medical school, said he owes about $60,000 in fines, legal fees and other costs related to his case.

He disagrees with current law on marijuana, and called it a "medically useful" drug that has been needlessly "demonized."

"Unfortunately (marijuana) has been classed like everything else such as ******* and methamphetamine," Banister said. "If you look around you notice that (marijuana) is not creating broken homes and accidents."

Concerts at Beckwourth Riverfront Park have been rare since the early 1990s. Public concern grew over safety at the events when a San Francisco man was run over by a car during a fight at the Gathering of the Vibes festival in 1993.

Once an annual event, the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival ended in 2000 when promoters canceled the event, also citing concerns over criminal activity at the concert.

Mayor Bill Harris said he is confident that Smith and Music That Matters promoters can ensure a good security plan for the event.

"He's going to keep that foremost in his mind, the security they can provide," Harris said of Smith.




Source: Appeal-Democrat
Copyright: © 2005 Appeal-Democrat
Contact: Scott Bransford at sbransford@appeal-democrat.com.
Website: http://www.appeal-democrat.com