Burning Man celebrants warned about drug laws
By Martin Griffith
The Associated Press
RENO, Nev. — Burning Man cele
brants will be allowed to return to
the same site in the northern Neva
da desert this summer after leaving
it clean last year, federal land man
agers decided.
But Bureau of Land Management
officials are warning participants
that drug laws again will be en
forced at the counterculture festival
in the Black Rock Desert 120 miles
north of Reno.
Billed as a celebration of art and
radical self-expression, the event is
expected to draw about 25,000 peo
ple from 45 states and 20 countries
to the desert over the Labor Day
weekend.
"We beefed up law enforcement
last year ... and we’ll take the same
approach this year that we took last
year,” said Les Boni, assistant field
manager of the BLM’s Winnemucca
office.
“Personal drug use isn’t permit
ted. Even though they come here for
the festival, they’re part of society
and accountable under the same
rules. We’re required to enforce
state and federal law.”
Some participants complained
about an excessive law enforcement
presence at last year’s festival. More
than 125 celebrants were cited or ar
rested, many on drug-related charges.
Some charges were later dismissed.
Organizers said it was the most ci
tations and arrests for drugs at the
festival since it began in San Fran
cisco in 1986. It moved to the Neva
da desert in 1990.
To avoid a repeat, organizers are
including information on drug laws
in this year’s “Survival Guide”
mailed to all ticketholders.
Their Web site says Burning Man
does not promote or condone drug
use, but supports the First Amend
ment and participants’ right to pri
vacy.
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“We are committed to following
all state and federal laws,” said
Burning Man spokeswoman Mari
an Goodell. “This year, we’re also
committed to better informing our
“We beefed up law
enforcement last year...
and well take the same
approach this year that we
took last year.”
Les Boni
assistant field manager,
Bureau of Land Management
participants as to what their rights
are and what the penalties are for
breaking any law.
“There has been an over-exagger
ation of drug use at Burning Man.
As a result, law enforcement offi
cers stepped up their enforcement
out there. This year you’ll see the
(arrest) numbers go down because
we’ll better inform people about
their rights and penalties.”
Organizers have held two meet
ings on the issue with Pershing
County Sheriff Ron Skinner, whose
county is home to the festival.
Skinner is urging participants to
refrain from drug use, saying his
agency also plans to enforce drug
laws again.
“I think in past years it was sort of
promoted by some participants as a
drug fest. But I don’t think that par
ticipants at Burning Man should be
treated any differently when it
comes to drug laws.”
Most of last year’s drug-related ci
tations and arrests involved blatant
drug use, Skinner added.
But some arrests and citations
stemmed from officers who ob
served drug activity in camp areas
from a distance, prompting com
plaints from some participants.
“We want to make sure their rights
are protected too,” Skinner said. “We
brief our officers very well on aspects
of search and seizure. I don’t think
they overstepped their bounds.”
Skinner and Boni praised organ
izers’ efforts to inform participants
about drug laws, saying they hope it
curbs drug activity at the event.
“They felt the (tougher enforce
ment) caught some of the partici
pants by surprise last year,” Boni
said. “This year, they’re promoting
that fact. So hopefully that won’t be
an issue.”
In allowing the event to be held at
the same site this year, BLM officials
rejected organizers’ proposal to
move it to a new site 1,800 feet to the
northeast.
“We didn’t see any advantage to
moving it,” Boni said, adding the
public also favored keeping the
event at the 2000 site. The site strad
dles a new National Conservation
Area in the Black Rock Desert.
Country Fair
continued from page 1
the dirt paths that trailed through
the wooded area in Veneta. The
crowd was so dense that people
didn’t walk but rather surged like
blood through veins.
When the eye did focus, it was
typically on something bizarre:
A man lying blindfolded on his
back while another man scanned
over his body with a didgeridoo.
Dancers wearing everything
from their birthday suits to a
blocky costume resembling Opti
mus Prime from the Transformers.
Mass juggling in an area dubbed
the “Monkey Palace.”
Topless yoga.
A man peddling a bike-powered
blender, banging a tambourine and
tooting a kazoo.
Vendors standing in a trail offer
ing free flower sniffing, just as
Hickory Farms employees offer
cheese and meat during the holi
day season.
People lining up to listen to
“Nirvana Tubes,” which were six
foot pipes tied to trees that offer an
effect similar to listening to a
seashell.
If these people were on a street
corner, passersby would either do
nate spare change or call the po
lice, but at the Country Fair, spec
tators are more likely to join.
Still, most people said they went
to the fair just to watch, shop or lis
ten to music. Art booths sold
goods ranging from $10 finger pup
pets to $200 didgeridoos. The food
court, which represented dozens
of cultures, smelled like some sort
of world casserole. Music was
everywhere and included a mas
sive drum circle, pre-registered
folk, rock and jazz acts and im
promptu musical gatherings at the
sides of paths.
The echo of the 1960s hippie
movement that can be heard at the
Country Fair was best summed up
by a conversation barely dis
cernible over the ambient noise:
“Where’s the drum circle?”
“Everywhere.”
Broadcasters
continued from pagel
ing news broadcasts would receive
30 seconds of each.
The Athletic Department held a
public hearing last week and is still
talking to broadcasters statewide
before making a final draft of the
policy, which is projected to be
ready by August.
But Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welch
es, a former Portland sportscaster,
has already threatened legislative
action if the University’s final draft
isn’t in stark contrast to the current
proposed limits.
Bill Johnstone, the president of
the Oregon Association of Broad
casters, said his organization may
also seek legal action if the proposal
goes through.
Contention over who has dibs
on Duck highlights started last
fall. ESPN Regional Sports, in the
middle of a five-year exclusive
contract with Duck sports, allows
footage to be aired on KEZI, Eu
gene’s ABC affiliate.
Both ESPN and ABC are owned
by the Disney Corporation.
But CBS affiliate KVAL, which
had the University sports contract
until the 1999-2000 school year,
continued to show Duck football
game footage on its “Inside the
PAC" show, which highlights all
teams in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Assistant Athletic Director Dave
Heeke said ESPN complained that
KVAL’s show infringed on the na
tional network’s rights.
“We have a disgruntled rights
holder in this market,” Heeke said.
“We have a responsibility to protect
the rights they hold.”
But KVAL General Manager Dave
Weinkauf said that during the last
two years of its contract, KEZI aired a
Duck football show after Monday
Night Football. Weinkauf said KVAL
asked the University to examine
whether the show violated the con
tract, but never asked the school to
adopt restrictions for other stations.
The proposal has also sparked a
philosophical debate between the
University and broadcasters over
whether it violates First Amendment
rights or simply protects the rights of
the school’s primary contract holder.
Susan Kelley, the general manager
and vice president of KTVL in Med
ford, said the proposal will likely
keep the station’s sportscasters from
coming to Eugene at all. She said a
seven-hour round trip and another
three or four hours filming wouldn’t
be worth the drive.
“The likelihood and reality is
that the Beavers will get more TV
time by virtue of the University’s
actions,” Kelley said.
She added that the proposal
would violate broadcasters’ First
Amendment rights against prior re
straint by restricting the free ability
to air footage.
“This is over the line as far as
we’re concerned. You just can’t go
there,” she said. “This really isn’t
about the video.”
But University General Counsel
Melinda Grier said that as long as
the school only restricts access
Proposed sports
broadcast restrictions:
Broadcasts get 20 seconds of game
highlights and 20 seconds
of interviews during the 48 hours
after any Duck game
Special shows outside a daily sports
report during the news would get 30
seconds of each
After the two-day period, a show
would have to apply each time
for more footage use
Source: University Athletic Department
and not the content of the footage
sportscasters choose to run, Kel
ley, Weinkauf and other TV jour
nalists’ First Amendment argu
ments don’t hold water.
“This is a venue where access
can be and is restricted,” Grier said.
“What we’re saying is you can
choose what to show, but there’s a
limit on how much.”
Heeke agreed that the University
can and must honor ESPN’s con
tracted status to carry the games
and keep other outlets from having
the same level of access.
“I do think [broadcasters] have
confused the general public to the
issues,” he said. “But this wouldn’t
be a problem if KVAL stopped do
ing special programming.”
Weinkauf said he thinks the Uni
versity, not his station, needs to make
the next step to resolve the issue.
“The next move is in the Univer
sity of Oregon’s court, and we’ll see
what they have to say,” he said.
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