Despite a conflict with the Madison Police Department over proper permit documentation, the 42nd annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival will continue as planned from Thursday, Oct. 4 to Sunday, Oct. 7.
The City of Madison requires the organizers of any event held on city streets to obtain a street use permit, which grants permission to use city-owned property such as Capitol Square, Library Mall and State Street.
But event coordinator Ruth Reifeis said although she acquired a street-use permit for the Harvest Festival, the MPD notified her in March she needed to pay an additional fee for overtime police presence.
Without paying the fee, the MPD will not grant a permit, making it illegal for Harvest Festival parade participants to march up State Street on Sunday, according to Reifeis.
Reifeis said she will not pay the additional fee because she said the unwritten policy violates her First Amendment right to assemble in a peaceful manner.
“I’m pretty sure that someone behind a desk in the police office is trying to put into writing this horrible unconstitutional, discriminatory policy,” Reifeis said.
But MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said the rule requiring event organizers to pay for an assessed amount of overtime officers is not new, although the policy has not been enforced in the past.
“This is not a new policy, rather a Central District decision to manage limited resources,” DeSpain said.
DeSpain said the overtime officers are necessary, so the MPD does not have to pull officers from their patrol duty to monitor special events.
In the past year, the MPD charged several groups such as March of Dimes and Madison College several hundred dollars for special event permits, according to a document from the MPD.
Reifeis said the police department is asking Harvest Festival to pay for two officers and a squad car.
Harvest Festival participant Dennis Brennan said he does not remember a significant police presence at past festivals and does not expect a high number of officers this year.
“We’ve been working with the police [on this event] for years,” Brennan said. “We’re very controlled.”
