Friday 18th November, 2011 by Harsha Prabhu The beaches and streets of Byron Bay - Australia's favourite easternmost tourist destination - were crawling with police of every description on Friday 18th Nov. Officers from the Tweed and the Sniffer Dog Squad, Riot Squad and Mounted Squad from Sydney joined local police in the police operation. The police action was in response to the start of Schoolie's Week - when several thousand school leavers were scheduled to descend on Byron - but the only people who seemed to be about in force on Friday night at 10pm was the police force itself.
I was an early casualty of this policing initiative. While blissfully drumming on a pair of congas at the sunset drum circle, I was sniffed out by a pair of police sniffer dogs. I was taken aside and asked if I had any 'drugs' on me. I admitted I had a couple of joints of ganja in my pocket. I furnished them and was then lead to a police van and patted down, had my id checked and issued with a caution for the possession of two cannabis joints.
While this process was underway, I tried my best to talk to the officers who were attending to my case. I said I found it absurd that, in 2011, I was being penalised for the possession of two joints, that ganja was a sacred herb for me, that I also smoked it for medical reasons. I was asked if I had a doctor's certificate to back me up, but had to admit I did not have one (something for the future). I pointed out that, as law enforcement officers, they would know that ex-law enforcement folk were lobbying for the decriminalisation of cannabis; that medical and drug and alcohol best practice was also pointing in that direction. Their position was that they were aware that cannabis laws varied from state to state, but that cannabis was illegal in New South Wales. I have to say that the officers were polite and professional all through this exchange.
I realise I am the quintessential village idiot for going to town at the start of Schoolie's Week with joints in my pocket. I definitely need my head examined for my role in becoming a minor statistic in the war on drugs. That's the easy bit.
However, the issue of cannabis use is a no-brainer for me. The law is an ass when it come to cannabis, an ass that's braying to the tune of the same forces that the 'occupy' movement is challenging: US corporate greed and corruption. It is these same forces that shape drug policy worldwide, including the banning of cannabis in Australia.
I also asked the officers about the police response in Byron that night. I was told that it was a decision of the police top brass to send the Riot Squad into Byron. They were prepared for any eventuality - including a riot. One of the mounted police later said to us: "We are here to keep the town safe".
But this response raises too many questions. On what intelligence did the police conclude that schoolies would riot in Byron Bay? How much is the anticipated cost of this police operation? Why do we fear schoolies? If we fear schoolies so much, why do we invite them? Do we want out town occupied by the police force in this way? Is this any example of good community policing?
The last question I ask of myself : Is this a preparation for the day when the people will say "Enough" and take to the streets in numbers that will challenge the status quo and cause the walls to come tumbling down and the police are just using Schoolie's Week as a rehearsal to deal with that day?
Then I think of Dorli Rainey, pepper sprayed by the cops during Occupy Seattle, at the age of 84, and I know that that day is already upon us. Today Wall St; tomorrow…
