Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Weedstock
Weedstock, arrival
“Weedstock 2018,” a three-day camping, music and marijuana festival got underway Friday afternoon, April 20, on farmland south of Colfax as the first hip-hop artist took the stage.
“How’s it going everybody” said the man on the microphone. “Who the **** is high? I know I am. I heard Seth Rogen was gonna be here and **** Julius Caesar and Santa Claus.”
Over the course of the weekend, more than 800 people signed the entry list at Stevick Road and Upper Union Flat Creek Road.
More than 30 musical acts performed on two stages with tents and vendors lined up in the pasture.
“I was totally surprised. It went off without a hitch. It went off with no problems,” said landowner Penny Gilchrist, whose son Dave Gilchrist, made the arrangements. “I don’t want to do it again. But it’s not gonna be up to me.”
Two more festival-goers arrive on day one of Weedstock 2018, a free private event for a group called 420 Union.The event took place after neighbors made concerns and protests known the week before and county commissioners said they will re-work the code that made for no permit required for the specifics of Weedstock: a gathering of more than 250 people that did not charge admission.
Over the three days, April 20-22, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office made 10 arrests in the immediate area, including four people arrested for driving with a suspended license, three for outstanding warrants, one for minor in possession of alcohol and another for possession of the drug suboxone.
A woman was arrested in the Weedstock parking field – for driving under the influence of alcohol – after her vehicle ended up in Union Flat Creek. A total of three related complaints were registered with the Sheriff’s office, including one for littering and the others alleged traffic offenses.
The sheriff’s office issued no citations or arrests for smoking marijuana in public.
“The use of marijuana anywhere the public can see it is an infraction,” said Sheriff Brett Myers. “It was skirting the line a little bit. But if it bled out into the community, we were there to keep a check on it.”
Earlier in April, Dave Gilchrist signed an agreement with organizer Dax Taylor of Pullman and 420 Union, which staged the event, the group formed in 1997 to share cannabis information among its members.
“I had no idea the community would get this upset,” said Gilchrist. “As time went on I got more heat on me, but once we found it was all legal, they didn’t need a permit, we went forward, (Taylor) had security... This was like a backyard barbecue, it just happened to be a group of cannabis enthusiasts. We don’t endorse it nor condemn it. I don’t use it, never have, never will, but I don’t condemn the people that do.”
No cost was charged for using the land.
“Who had the most fun was our dog, Max,” said Gilchrist. “He went from person to person, tent to tent, vendor to vendor. Everybody gave him treats.”
Raised on the land, Gilchrist graduated from Colfax High School in 1987. After Taylor approached him with his idea, Gilchrist did some research, reading about a man once in a similar position; Bethel, New York dairy farmer Max Yasgur, who agreed to rent 600 acres on July 20, 1969 for “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music”: Woodstock.
“I think what threw everyone for a loop, if anybody has some moral high ground to stand on, it would be me, and I’m smiling about putting this on,” Gilchrist said. “So they can all shut up... You gotta push the boundaries a little bit.”
Had he heard from any neighbors after the weekend was over?
He said he had.
“I hope they’re eating a little bit of crow,” Penny said. She had made an effort to shut down Weedstock before it started, then found her worries lightened as the weekend progressed.
“They had security up the ying-yang, but so did we,” she said. “Our cows are not falling over with marijuana. We heard that they would be.”
Penny visited the site at different times throughout the three days, riding on a four-wheeler utility vehicle.
“I would say the people there were mainly age 30 and up to 70. There were no college kids. They wouldn’t come to something like that, they’re smarter than that,” she said.
Penny praised the food and the vendors: “Beautiful jewelry, that you’d find on Fifth Avenue.” She bought a deep-fat fried Oreo cookie.
All the while, the Sheriff’s office kept an eye out.
“Our goal was to make sure our roadways were safe,” said Sheriff Myers. “Anytime you have any event of any kind, you’re gonna end up with what we saw. You gotta consider the type of gathering this was. It attracts a certain group of people, just like one that promoted other drugs, alcohol, music; people with more problems with suspended driving, warrants, etc.”
The sheriff’s department mainly stayed off the grounds itself.
“Unless something major happened, we weren’t going to be barging in; it would not have accomplished a whole lot,” Myers said. “Just making sure the event stayed inside. We tried to show a fairly steady presence. A law enforcement presence I think went a long way.”
Overall, Dave Gilchrist and his wife Sue now return to their regular farming and ranch activity.
“The flat is actually in better shape than when they got here,” Dave said. “They picked up some garbage that was already down there.”
Sue noted that other events on the Gilchrist land – such as the annual fishing derby – have resulted in more problems.
“Have you seen what it’s like to have 600 minivans going up the flat?” said Sue.
Now that Weedstock 2018 is complete, talk of next year is underway.
“We haven’t broached that,” Dave said. “Somebody mentioned it. I don’t really care. I didn’t commit to anything. That’s a year away.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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