Vancouver 4-20 celebration and protest a no-show at Sunset Beach amid police crackdown
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."
With the planned gathering at Sunset Beach essentially shut down, many 4-20 revellers relocated to the south plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery at Robson Square.
Just outside Robson Square, Sgt. Steve Addison with the VPD told CTV News officers were at Sunset Beach “first thing this morning” to hand out the notice to vendors.
“We spoke to a number of people who were arriving to set up and when we informed them that their products could be seized due to a contravention of the CCLA, a number of people chose not to participate,” he said.
“Certain people chose to relocate here; other people chose to just go home,” he said. “Ultimately the major 4-20 gathering that we saw in downtown Vancouver today happened here at the art gallery.”
Shortly after 4:20 p.m., the VPD shared a photo of numerous bags of dried cannabis and other products it said officers had confiscated from a vendor "who refused to stop illegally selling" outside the art gallery.
Addison said that police issued “some” tickets for selling cannabis without a permit, but told CTV News he couldn’t specify how many tickets were handed out or how much product was seized.
In years past, especially before the COVID-19 pandemic, annual 4-20 protests at the art gallery and later at Sunset Beach drew thousands of participants, including numerous vendors selling cannabis and cannabis-related products.
Police have generally refrained from seizing vendors' products during previous 4-20 events.
Addison maintained the VPD’s approach this year was similar to previous 4-20s since the legalization of recreational cannabis—namely, “educating people about the CCLA.”
“Our role here is public safety; our role here is to facilitate a peaceful and lawful protest,” he said, adding that no major issues arose at the events.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kaija Jussinoja
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
More enoki mushrooms, Lamborghini Urus and promotionally-gifted tumbler cups: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued various recalls this week. Here's what you need to know.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Luciano Benetton says he's stepping down as chairman of family-run brand as losses top US$100 million
Luciano Benetton, a co-founder of the apparel brand, announced he was stepping down as chairman in an interview published on Saturday with Milan daily Corriere della Sera. He blamed current management for losses of 100 million euros (US$108.5 million) that he discovered last year.
Three dead after vehicle leaves road in Shediac: N.B. RCMP
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
1 dead, 3 in hospital after flying wheel crashes into bus windshield on QEW
A man is dead, and three others are in hospital after a flying wheel crashed into a coach bus on the QEW in St. Catharines.