Byron Bay articles of interest.

The Nimbin Mardi Grass is set for a HUGE year this year, celebrating their 20th anniversary! Entry into Plantem Park and the Nimbin Hall where most MardiGrass events are held costs $50 for a weekend pass including Friday night, or $30 for a one day pass. With three nights camping a full ticket costs $100. Armbands are available at the Nimbin Hall and the Hemp Embassy. Camping sites and tickets can be booked online at www.nimbinmardigrass.com The 21st annual Cannabis law reform rally and gathering begins at midday on Wednesday May 1st when we march from Lismore Court House to the Police Station (Next Door), then to the office of our local Federal MP Janelle Saffin, and on to the [...]

PUBLIC FORUM IN BYRON TONIGHT!! Strange Bedfellows-Making the tourist/resident Marriage Work. Byron Bay Community Centre from 5.30pm – In response to the public outcry in relation to the impacts of tourism on the local community over peak holiday periods, a community forum has been organised to discuss how the community can benefit from the industry and how they may be able to address the inherent challenges. Presented by Byron Shire Council in conjunction with The Echo, Byron Shire News and Bay FM, the Public Forum will be conducted in the style of Q&A with former ABC journalist Mick O’Regan as moderator. Panel Members include Jan Barham – NSW Legislative Council, Don Page – NSW Minister for Local Government and local [...]

The YACROCKCAFE will tonight host a Hardcore Party for the launch of Cringe The Binge – National Weekend Of Action! The YACROCKCAFE is a music based drop-in for high school and uni aged young people which happens every Friday night at the Byron Youth Activities Centre (YAC). Since it kicked off in March this year, the YACROCKCAFE has seen young bands from as far away as Launceston & Melbourne hit the stage each week, with many of the bands coming from Byron Shire, the Gold Coast and Brisbane. On average, each week, four bands play between 7 & 10pm. The YACROCKCAFE is supported by BUDDI (Byron Underage Drinking & Drug Initiative – Community Drug Action Team), Byron Youth Service and [...]

YOUNG PEOPLE URGED TO PLAY IT SAFE DURING SCHOOLIES WEEK 2012 -  AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that school leavers could enjoy their much-deserved fun and relaxation during Schoolies Week 2012 without resorting to binge drinking, which can often lead to other unhealthy or unsafe behaviour. The Schoolies Week season commences from 17 November in NSW and Queensland, with other States to follow in coming weeks. In the lead-up to Schoolies Week, Dr Hambleton will tomorrow officially open the Cringe the Binge National Weekend of Action in Byron Bay, one of the most popular destinations for school leavers looking to unwind after their exams. Cringe the Binge is a community-wide Byron Bay movement that is [...]

Rosebank author David Spiteri. A Biker’s Tale Men who stick by their mates and who will do anything to defend their code of honour, even if it means violence. What they have in common: a love of motorbikes and “the brotherhood”. Welcome to outlaw motorcycle clubs as they are portrayed in a no-holds-barred book by long-term Rosebank resident and former Lismore fish shop owner David Spiteri. The Prez is a gritty account of the birth of the clubs in Australia, based on David’s own experiences, and it’s already attracting plenty of media attention. It’s packed with sex and violence, explicit language, drug-trading and not a little bit of humour … just the kind of thing that’s sure to make it [...]

Bluejuice is just one of the bands appearning at this year’s Big Day Out on the Gold Coast. Big Day Out rocks into town THE Big Day Out music festival is about to hit the Gold Coast this weekend. Bringing big names such as Kanye West, Soundgarden and My Chemical Romance, it’s sure to be a massive day at the Parklands on Sunday. Organisers are reminding festival-goers to bring identification, sunscreen and sensible shoes. They’ve also asked people not to turn up drunk or use drugs. “Don’t presume that the laws of the real world don’t apply to the Big Day Out. Anyone caught holding or dealing illegal substances will be treated the same way as anywhere else. It is [...]

BYRON SCHOOLIES SAFETY RESPONSE -WRAP UP FROM THE HUB COORDINATOR The third year of the Byron Schoolies Safety Response and the Schoolies HUB has come to an end. Once again this year, it has been a very successful event, helping to protect the local community and keep the youngest of our visitors safe while they were here on their special end of year 12 celebrations. Not everyone in the Byron community is happy about these types of celebrations, in fact, many would say that this type of rite of passage is unnecessary and should be stopped. Unfortunately, there’s pretty much nothing that can be done to stop Schoolies, so the best we can do, as a community, is to respond [...]

THE investigation into missing drugs from a Tweed-Byron lock-up comes just weeks after a senior police officer within the command tested positive to illicit drugs, including cocaine. The Northern Star can now reveal that officer is Detective Inspector Shane Diehm (pictured), who was crime manager at the time. The Northern Star is not suggesting Det Insp Diehm is in any way linked to the drugs theft. AN internal police investigation is under way into the theft of drugs from a police lock-up within the Tweed -Byron Local Area Command. A spokesperson for police media said the investigation was focused on a small amount of seized drugs which had not been accounted for. A police source told The Northern Star the [...]

The Northern Rivers Youth Advisory Council are a voice for young people in the Northern Rivers. They have developed a survey to find out info about young people in the Northern Rivers – who they are, what they do, where they live & what matters to them. Just like the national census, but instead created by young people in the Northern Rivers! They want to hear from all young people, so there are two great prizes on offer to help get the word out. First prize is an Apple IPAD, and 2nd prize is a ticket to the Byron Bay Blues Festival! Link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YOUTHCENSUSnorthernrivers Why is the Youth Census important? The Youth Census is a chance for young [...]

The famous Big Joint is carried down Nimbin’s main street. A MAN armed with a rifle was arrested at gunpoint near the MardiGrass celebrations in Nimbin yesterday. The 30-year-old was walking along Mountaintop Rd on his way into the town when police, who had been tipped off, swooped. They were taking no chances when they approached the man, who was openly carrying a .22 calibre rifle, said Richmond Local Area Command duty officer, Inspector Gary Cowan. The man immediately co-operated with police and was arrested. He was taken to Lismore police station and then to the Richmond Clinic for psychiatric assessment, Insp Cowan said. The rifle was not loaded. The arrest was the only serious incident at MardiGrass, Insp Cowan [...]

Michael Balderstone and volunteers prepare a vast number of herbal joints in preparation for MardiGrass over the weekend. photo Marc Stapelberg POLICE were keeping a low profile in Nimbin yesterday afternoon – although perhaps they were only sheltering from the sporadic heavy rains that struck the town leading up to MardiGrass. But the police have made it clear they will be highly visible at the weekend’s “law reform rally and gathering”, with about 100 officers from the Richmond Local Area Command and the Northern Region out in force. Their aim would be to “maintain a safe environment for the public without tolerating any illegal drug activity or anti-social behaviour”, a spokesman said. Despite the weather, revellers were filling up the streets [...]

The Bringabong Babes danced their way through the MardiGrass law reform rally last year ORGANISERS of the annual Nimbin MardiGrass acknowledge the entertainment program is a major drawcard of the event, but say their cannabis law-reform message is as relevant today as it was at the first rally in 1993. “We vowed to rally every year on the first Sunday in May until we are no longer criminals for using cannabis,” MardiGrass spokesman Michael Balderstone said. “Until the laws change, MardiGrass is relevant – as far as we are concerned the law is the crime,” Mr Balderstone said. Now in its 19th year, the rally this weekend will draw thous- ands onto the streets of the usually tranquil town. For [...]

A report by the NSW Auditor General reveals that Byron Shire and Lismore LGAs took the second and third spots for highest number of cannabis possession offences in the State. TWO local government areas (LGAs) on the Northern Rivers take some of the top spots for the most cannabis offences in the State, a crime which costs the NSW economy $700 million a year, a new report states. The NSW Auditor-General yesterday released his findings on the effectiveness of police issuing cautions to people in possession of minor amounts of cannabis (less than 15 grams). Eight per cent of the NSW population are cannabis users, the report found, a large proportion of which are on the Northern Rivers. The Byron [...]

A STAGGERING 21 of the 96 clandestine drug laboratories seized in NSW last year were found on the Northern Rivers. While the state-wide haul represents a 43% increase on 2009 figures, NSW Drug Squad Detective Inspector Nick Iorfino says the local spike was greater – though he cautions against interpreting that as a drug crime surge. “Seventy per cent of labs are found through proactive investigations and I know that Tweed-Byron, Richmond and Coffs-Clarence commands have been very proactive in their investigations so it is probably as much a reflection on the good work that they’ve been doing. “It’s important to note that these statistics can vary dramatically from year to year so they’re not indicative of certain areas having [...]

A police air wing helicopter searches bushland in the Tweed  and Byron Shires. ABOUT $1.6 million worth of cannabis was found in two days as a police heli- copter, dogs and officers swooped on outlying villages in the Tweed and Byron shires. The NSW Police Drug Squad, along with the police air wing, dog squad and Tweed Byron Police officers began the Cannabis Eradication Program (CEP) in the region on Monday and will continue until tomorrow, Drug Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham said. “So far we have conducted the CEP in Huonbrook, Upper Wilsons Creek, Billynudgel, Yelgun, Upper Main Arm, Mullumbimby Creek, Coorabell and Saint Helena,” Det Supt Bingham said. Yesterday, the searches were staged in the Chillingham, Tyalgum [...]

Study to target pot withdrawal PEOPLE who feel their use of marijuana is problematic, and who want to stop smoking pot, are being invited to take part in a new trial at the Riverlands Drug and Alcohol Centre in Lismore. The trial is being conducted with researchers from the Uni-versity of Sydney to evaluate the safety and usefulness of the mood-stabilising medication lithium, commonly used for the management of bipolar affective disorder in the management of cannabis withdrawal. Trial co-ordinator, Dr Jennifer Johnston, said while many pot smokers felt they could stop at will, others found they experienced withdrawal symptoms such as sleep difficulties, incr-eased anger and aggression, irritability, nervousness and anxiety. “Some users at the severe end of cannabis [...]

TWEED/BYRON Local Area Command police have conducted a drug dog operation outside a local high school and nearby skate-park. As a result of information received from members of the public, about 2.30pm yesterday police from various sections in Tweed Heads assisted by a drug dog conducted numerous searches of students leaving a school. The students were stopped at the intersection of Minjungbal Drive and Heffron Street where police drug dog ‘Wilson’ and his handler conducted a sweep of students leaving the school. The dog and handler later conducted a number of sweeps of young people at the Tweed Skate Park and a number of school buses the students had boarded. Throughout the operation the drug dog indicated numerous detections however [...]

So it seems that alcohol is the big thing on the list of conversations I had had this week. It was the topic of my first conversations of the day yesterday and also the last and many in between. There are a lot of people talking about alcohol in Byron Bay at the moment. Why? Probably the biggest reason right now has a lot to do with the news that Woolies are putting a Dan Murphy’s Superstore liquor outlet smack bang right in the middle of town. There seem to be a lot of adults excited at the thought of having this giant 1000 square metre alcohol SUPERmarket come to town and just as many totally disgusted at the thought. [...]